When I used to think of Vermont I thought of trees. Just trees. I had never been to this very green state to admire the greenery until the summer of 2018. We were told we had to move across the country to Vermont away from my home in California. It stunned me. And the worst part was that I couldn’t tell ANYBODY. Not my friends, not my teachers, not my extended family, no one. That is besides the point. Later that summer we visited Vermont to look for a place to replant our roots. There was always something wrong with each house. The carpet is weird, it’s like a maze, it’s too dark, we don’t want or need this room, etc. Until one house. It’s light yellow and is absolutely gorgeous. That was just us pulling into the long winding driveway.
Not only was the house breathtaking, the backyard was something special. Something I had never begun to imagine. It is a very private place with no one around. There is a section of flat green grass that soon drops off into beautiful bushes that later lead to a daunting forest. It is overlooked by a stone patio with small stone walls that when you stand on them you can see over the tree line into the valley. While standing on those walls you turn around and see your reflection in the ceiling-to-floor windows. You breathe in deep and smell the snow and the crisp air. You turn back around to see a world beyond the trees. Mountains that overlap with aesthetic ease, stealth power lines stringing from one wood pole to the other, clouds that look over the same world you are taking in. To your right there is a cherry blossom tree that sticks out into the yard. Though it has no blossoms on it, it still shares its full beauty with the universe. It is rejuvenating to be looking at the world and admiring how amazing it is to share it with the people you love. No matter how far away they are.
At night, I look out my window that overlooks the yard and see the stars. Almost like I am making sure they are still there. They cover the sky like when you sprinkle sugar in your coffee. Yep, still there. The navy blue sky puts me to sleep instantly, but only if I am not kept up looking at the stars. They astonish me. How can something so beautiful be kept so far out of reach?
