two roads diverged in a yellow wood...

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want in the future... where I want to be living and what I want to be doing. We are surrounded here by a lot of wealth-- I don't know if it's our proximity to NYC or transplants from the East Coast or that the Mennonite and Amish communities have traditionally had a lot of money. Sometimes it seems like we get caught up in the comparisons. Just this afternoon Caroline saw one of her school friends who just got back from her family's cruise to Bermuda. Teens at the High School drive BMW's and more expensive cars than I've ever had. I think to myself that we tend to judge people as being "better" by all of these things and all I want is a more simple life. Real wealth to me is being able to buy good farm fresh food and not worry about paying the bills. It's being able to find a house with a long history and character, and keep it in it's best shape. I actually love vintage cars way more than any new luxury car. I think Caroline has picked up that same love! We get all giggly over seeing anything vintage on the road. It's because it's unique. 

I want to take the road less travelled.

Don't get me wrong-- I'm so thankful for Craig's successful career and he works really hard at it. Nothing we have comes easy.  Every night I thank God for all the people in my life and for everything that we have. I wish everyone had what we had. It's just enough. Sometimes I am sad that I can't afford better education for my kids or to redo my kitchen, but then I realize that it's not those things that determine a happy life. I can still cook delicious meals for everyone. My kids will learn more from their life experiences-- more than any teacher could ever teach them. They'll pursue their passions in life. That's what I hope. They are already embracing the idea of being individuals.

They'll want to take the road less travelled.

So here is my dream-- to find a just-big-enough New England house with a long history and lots of character, in Maine. I want to be able to kayak and paddle board and go sailing. I want to be part of a little community that has lots of stories to tell. I want to see the beautiful foliage in the fall and be able to snow shoe in the winter. I want to keep the windows open to let the ocean breezes find their way in and to hear the crickets and maybe the loons at night. I want to taste fresh seafood and eat from the local farmer's crops and wander into the library weekly. I want to take Elle on long walks and let her enjoy being on the water with us. I want to feel like I am home. While others are retiring to Florida, I want to embrace the North.

I want to take the road less travelled.

So I'm putting this out there in the universe, hoping that I can focus on this goal. I also want to finish my homeopathy degree. I want to start a small practice where you come to my home and sit with me while we drink tea and talk about how to make you feel better. I want to help children and adults to conquer their allergies and be kind to their bodies so that they can enjoy all the seasons and life itself. I want to heal chronic diseases and watch people embrace their lives again. I want to know each person so well that they feel that they matter and that their health is very important. I don't want to have to advertise a lot-- just have referrals from people who have been healed and appreciate this kind and gentle medicine. I want it to be affordable to everyone. And maybe even someday illustrate and write a book or two. Somehow share the important things I've learned so that others can easily know them too.

I want to take the road less travelled.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 

Robert Frost