As we head toward the shortest day of the year and move inexorably toward the new year of 2026 (especially noteworthy for me because it is the year of my 80th birthday and my first-born child’s 50th!), we bid farewell to another beautiful fall in Northern Virginia. As we are often reminded, the end of one year and the beginning of another is a season of remembering and reflection on the past and anticipation of the future . . .
. . . which reminds me of the story about the high school commencement speaker who solemnly intoned to the graduates arrayed before him, “Remember, young men and women: Your past is behind you, and your future is ahead of you,” to which one of the few seniors who was paying attention was heard to mutter in reply, “Well, I'm not sure where else they would be!” Despite that student’s perspicacious rejoinder, there is a certain truth to the speaker’s platitudinous pronouncement: There is nothing we can do to change our past, nor do we know what our future holds. Thus there is considerable wisdom in the advice to live in the present moment because it is all that we really have. Perhaps we should resolve therefore—as we wrap up 2025 and prepare to move into 2026—to do precisely that: cherish each moment that we have, appreciate the many blessings that we enjoy now, and commit to take advantage of every opportunity that life presents to us.
So spend a few minutes looking at the recent picture of a sunrise at Lakeport that accompanies this article (as well as other pictures elsewhere in this issue of our beautiful fall foliage) and reflect on what you have to be thankful for right now, regardless of what has taken place in your life or in the world around you in the past or what might happen in the future. This moment is indeed precious!
Recently I was paying for our Christmas tree at Meadows Farms, and when the very pleasant lady at checkout saw my address, she exclaimed, “Oh, you live in Lakeport? I would just love to own a home there!” I’m constantly reminded that one of the major reasons Lakeport is such a desirable place to live is the exceptional contributions our many community volunteers make so I want to take a moment (a paragraph?) to highlight their (your) efforts on behalf of all of us. This fall was especially noteworthy in this regard, with a very productive Fall Workday and a great deal of hard work on the improvement of the performance of the drainage swale behind 1944 and 1952 Lakeport Way. And this fall’s Lakeport activities shown in the Social Committee article happen because of the efforts of not only the chairs and hosts but also others who contribute and participate, and they are critical to making Lakeport a community. If you haven’t been to one of these events, I’d urge to do so in the future. Please look at “Thanks to Volunteers” elsewhere in this Ripples for more specifics (and imagine how good you will feel when you see your name in that list in the next issue!)
On another matter of importance to us as residents of Lakeport Cluster, please be sure to take the time to read the excellent article submitted by long-time resident James Pan on the future of South Lakes Village Center. A significant attraction of Lakeport for Mary and me when we were considering where to move in this area was the proximity and wide variety of shops and services available within easy walking distance (one of the key design features in Bob Simon’s original vision for Reston, illustrating his dream of a community where residents could “live, work, play”). We all have a major stake in keeping SLV viable, not only for our own convenience but also for the value it adds if we should want/need to sell our home. For a clear example of what can happen if we are not vigilant, use your preferred AI to search for “Tall Oaks Village Center.” Here is how ChatGPT concludes its response: “The story of Tall Oaks is a microcosm of how planned suburban communities can evolve: what was once a local village-center hub can — over decades — morph into a different kind of community (residential rather than retail).”
Once again, I want to conclude with two requests I make every issue, plus a third that concerns an ongoing problem:
- Please set up Direct Debit through our management company SCS for your quarterly assessment payments, the next of which is due January 1 (and will be $365 per quarter, or $5.00 more than past charges). The main advantage is that you never have to worry about being late and incurring late fees or paying the wrong amount by mistake, but you also save the hassle and expense of mailing a check (or being charged a fee by SCS for using a credit card online). Note that beginning with this upcoming payment, the address for mailing a check will change to c/o SCS, PO Box 1240, New York NY 10008-1240. Alternatively, you can set up quarterly payments through your bank’s electronic bill payment system (although you will need to change the amount sent whenever the assessment rate changes). I have heard from several people that they don’t want to use automated payments because they like to know exactly how much their bills are, but unlike electricity or water, for example, you already will know exactly how much your quarterly assessment will be: Rates are posted in the online “HOA Fee Payment: Charges for assessment, fees, administrative charges” in the Residents tab of the Lakeport website (under “HOA Fee Payment,” which has more information on options for paying your assessment). So please consider this time- and cost-saving way to pay your assessments (it will also mean Board members don’t have to send reminders to owners who haven’t paid so they don’t get charged a late fee).
- Also please check the Directory and add/update your information if necessary. If former residents are listed, email webmaster@lakeportcluster.org to request their names be removed. If you have renters, ask them to submit the form at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFILfWGBoWIgWlBPSQmIKj4kIX0kPA7XsRjnsaOsNXuvVSkw/viewform?dods&gxids=7628.
- Finally, all residents need to be aware of an important provision in the Lakeport Handbook concerning shared parking spaces: “A quality-of-life violation can be the result of a resident treating a common-area parking space as an extension of the resident’s private driveway.” Please contribute to the community atmosphere that we cherish here in Lakeport by being a good citizen and honoring the need to keep common-area parking spaces available for the purpose for which they are intended, namely, parking for visitors and guests on a short-term basis.
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