growing up in Waynewood

Growing Up in Waynewood

June 26, 2017 | Inside Alexandria | By: The Goodhart Group

Growing Up in Waynewood

By Maxine Clifford, Goodhart Group Intern

As a kid growing up in Waynewood, summer was the most wonderful time of the year.

My friends and I traded our backpacks full of books, pencils, and lunch boxes for swim bags to carry our towels, goggles, and quarters for the ice cream truck. From dawn until dusk, I played at Waynewood Pool, which is located in the center of the neighborhood and serves as the hub of neighborhood activity in the summer months. I rode my bike to swim practice every morning, where I met up with most of my friends. After practice we stayed for hours, running around the pool deck and the playground with the other neighborhood kids, who came and went throughout the day. If it was Tuesday, we’d meet our parents at dinnertime for Food Truckin’ Tuesday, where different food truck vendors parked in the parking lot. If it was Friday, we’d help set up for the Friday night swim team pep rally.

The highlight of the summer in Waynewood was always the Fourth of July Parade, where I decorated my bike and rode alongside hundreds of other kids from Waynewood Elementary School to Waynewood Pool. The parade preceded the all day party at the pool featuring snow cones, carnival games, and moon bounces.

There was no shortage of activity in Waynewood throughout the year. The neighborhood came together for holidays from the Halloween haunted house on Crowley Place to the Turkey Trot before Thanksgiving. When it snowed, my friends and I trekked to one of the two neighborhood hills for optimal sledding. In the spring, we looked forward to the Easter egg hunt at the pool. Growing up in Waynewood, I came to know every family in the neighborhood, which later helped me land many babysitting jobs.

On the Waynewood Swim Team, I developed a love for competition, and I learned the importance of hard work and dedication. Riding my bike up and down the streets, walking to and from school, I became independent, stayed active, and met some of my lifelong best friends. 

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Thank you, Maxine!

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