Utopia?
Well, I’d hardly call VT utopia, but this was a relatively fun article to read - certainly not the best nor one I totally agree with, but I will say the writer puts a good spin on what we like about our life here - the “slow” pace, at least what we perceive relative to the rest of the country (or at least the parts with which we are familiar, that is the coasts anyway). Whenever we go away, we are always thankful to come back to where we can not be so hurried and where it’s generally far less crowded. Emily didn’t feel well most of our time in MA for the Thanksgiving holiday (tummy ache). At one point we decided it was worth a call to her doctor who recommended she get looked at. We opted to wait until we got home where things (like urgent care and walk-in clinics) were familiar and we knew the variables at least to a certain degree. The thought of finding a doctor in MA in the greater Boston area on a holiday weekend, the potential for long lines, crowds, getting lost, questionable care quality, etc were just too high and intimidating. We may have spent two hours here at home at the hospital’s walk in center waiting and getting poked Saturday night to get the diagnosis of “abdominal pain with uncertain cause”, but we knew where we were and how to get there. We knew what to do if we weren’t satisfied with the answers or the care. We knew where to park. We knew where to get food. We were home. No crowds, no hurry and flurry, just pokey old VT. We don’t have to sign our kids up for pre-school while they’re still in utero. We don’t have the same pressures to compete athletically, socially, fashionably, or educationally like elsewhere, at least not to the same degree. People here are perhaps (I do say perhaps) more ignorant, less refined, informal, boring, or what have you than elsewhere. I guess we must be all of that ourselves (we’re definitely quiet!). And we are thankful. Thankful to be here. We like cold. We don’t like crowds. We like flannel and down and fuzzy slippers (vs. cashmere, silk, leather, and high heels). We’re kind of slow. We like lots of space and natural beauty. Obviously, Vermont is not perfect and there is competition and there are crowds and traffic and we live in the busiest part of the state. And there are hurried people who exert pressure on you wherever you go. But even here in our “crowded county”, it’s not like the more populated parts of the good old USA. We like it and we’re planning to call this home as long as the Lord will allow!