The first 3 years of living in Vermont for me was about remaking my relationship to home. Amy and I moved here with the idea that it was a “forever move”, but I feel like I’ve only started the forever part recently. Moving back to Vermont wasn’t an option until my father passed away in 2012. It might feel brutal or cold to write or read, but there was no place here for me or Amy until he was gone. Since my early twenties, I had assumed that I eventually would return to the farm where I grew up in Vermont.

Home in its gnarly heart(iness) is here in Vermont, but maintaining a connection to the west feels vital for making life back East work.