Goodbye, Vermont

I left vacation a day early.  I know, I know.  With pristine views like the one above, how could I have possibly jumped in that Volvo and sped off?  I had two weeks of blissful days up in the Green Mountain State, but just.had.to.leave.

I adore Vermont.  The longer I stayed there the more I wanted to live there.  I feel like that every year.  There's a certain pace to life that I so enjoy.  People aren't as tense.  There's the natural beauty of the lake, the mountains, which grounds me.  I adore the farmer's markets which seem to spring up in every town on nearly each day of the week.  Perhaps I'm just the yuppie tourist, enjoying her lattes in the gourmet bakeries (Oh my gawd - try Laundry in Vergennes - to die for little chocolate cookies, too!).  I have this view of Vermont that's taken during the warm, summer months, when I'm licking a maple creamy so the sides don't drip down onto my skin.

Yes, vacation was full of fun.  I went on an amazing college tour with my sons at Champlain College, where there's a library terrace that overlooks the lake, and a major in Cyber Security.  How cool is that?  I read, read, and read seven books, pouring through words.  Swimming off the dock and in the sandbar, boat rides with my brother, a bike ride where I almost ran over tourists, all was a good time.

But the closer it got the end I found myself becoming depressed.  A lot of feelings of failure crept in, perhaps triggered from the college visit.  I have so much I want to do, but I haven't done it.  Why?  What am I waiting for?  What am I scared of?  Am I just on the wrong path?

I always wanted to own a summer place, either on the lake or the beach.  Why can't I be ever so thankful that I'm renting a quaint cottage with amazing views and leave it at that?  No, I always want more.  I seem to never be happy with what I have.  I need to change that and make myself express gratitude for what I have, instead of obsessing for what I seek.

So home I came.  Back to the loving meow of my cat, Avi, a stack of mail, and five loads of laundry that needed to be done.  Let the work begin!

I'm trying to think of ways to continue the peace I did gain on vacation back here at home.  One is to keep up my pace of reading throughout the summer until school starts (even though I was just uploading information into my school Skpe account - I can never stay away from the job!).  I've got my pile of books from the library today, so I'm ready.

And gratitude.  Yes, with gratitude comes greatness in life.