The three of us (wife, child, me) went for a week-long visit in July. I have already blogged about some of our food adventures:
It has been 14 years since my original post about the place. That's a long time in the life of such a community. It's an older crowd for much of the summer with most folks in their 70s and 80s. Late July to early August is the high social season when the younger generations arrive en masse. There are a lot of small children who weren't there 14 years ago. And of course, loved ones have passed on in that time, too. The rest of us have simply gotten older.
Every year, I feel I have to sort out my place at the Tree Farm all over again and I suppose more to the point, its place in my life. The cabin is a lower tech version of our own home in Vermont. If anything, I'll take the woodlands here over the woodlands there. It's a long drive, too, and beyond my family, the person in the community I feel closest to also happens to live in northwest Vermont. So, why bother? If the place weren't so important to my parents, would I still make the effort?
Life never sits still for long. Change is the only constant. That's a self-contradicting sentence yet people say it all the time. It's good to have one spot of earth where you can always return. You'll always feel welcome. My parents haven't lived in the house where I grew up for nearly a quarter century. My wife and I have no intention of staying in our current home forever. But the Tree Farm is right where it has always been and that is a comfort.
Even if I didn't want that for myself, I'd want it for our child. They love the place and have made clear they're committed for life.
Wonderful that no matter were you are now there will always be a special home place to return to. Lovely photos
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I have come to see it. And I'm grateful.
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