LOVE LETTER TO RAMONA

WRITTEN BY MICHAEL RAHER | PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHAEL RAHER

My wife, Laurie, and I moved to Ramona in October of 2003 with our newborn son, Noah. The decision to move to the Valley of the Sun was quite a simple one, really.

We were living in Cardiff at the time we got pregnant and knew the hustle and bustle of living on the coast was not a lifestyle we wanted to bring our kids up in. Plus, Ramona reminded me very much of where I grew up in Australia — minus the kangaroos and koalas!

Once settled here, we decided to purchase our first home together and moved to San Diego Country Estates. To say this was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made as a couple would be an understatement.

When our second son, Jacob, was born, living in the Estates proved to be a godsend. There were so many younger couples similar to us, with young children that we’d see at Ramona Oaks pool or at playgroup and, later, James Dukes Elementary School.

To this day, both my boys have friends whom they have known their whole lives, literally, from playgroup to pre-K to James Dukes to Olive Peirce and to Ramona High School. There were countless sleepovers with friends, mother-andson campouts at Dos Picos County Park, summer day camps at Ramona Oaks Park, events at the Ramona Library, exploring the canyons throughout Country Estates, concerts in the park, the Christmas Tree Lighting, the Ramona Rodeo, the Ramona Country Fair and more. And then you add in sports, like soccer, Pop Warner football, tennis/golf/swim camp, horse riding, and high school volleyball and football, and you realize just how busy, and fun, raising children in this community has been.

But for Laurie and me, it hasn’t always been about the children. We’ve always made a point to get out and explore Ramona with and without the kids! My wife loves to hike and, along with our handsome lab, Milo, she regularly tackles the many trails of Ramona with her dear friends. We enjoy wine very much, and the fact we have so many excellent wineries in the area provides that weekend respite after a long workweek. And now, many of the winery owners have become close friends, which has been a bonus.

And on a lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon, or in the early evening, we sit out on our back patio staring at the surrounding mountains or the breathtaking sunsets and say to ourselves, “We live here!”

You see, for me and my family, Ramona is “lagom.” I read an article a few weeks ago about the meaning of this word and realized just how relevant it is in my life and the main reason I choose to live in Ramona. And what is the meaning of “lagom,” you ask? Well, it’s a Swedish word meaning “just the right amount” or “not too much, not too little.”

For us, Ramona is just the right amount. Could it be better? Yes, but so can most places. Ramona provides us with the perfect balance that we don’t need to look elsewhere for. We have certainly tried — we moved to Northern Nevada a few years ago and came right back! And I’m always looking at the possibility of moving back to Australia or up to the Pacific Northwest, but, at the end of the day, Ramona is home. Truly home.

So consider this my love letter to Ramona, my public acknowledgement that this town, with all its character traits and flaws, is “lagom.”

Just the right amount.