About 15 minutes of rural, twisting roads, taking me through countryside dotted with barns and farmland. Most of the farms are in pretty bad shape. A sign that what once was a thriving business is now a relic of the past. Land is often left unused, waiting to become bedroom communities with tracts of cookie-cutter housing, as more people settle into this area and drive to their jobs in nearby cities like Northampton, Springfield, Greenfield, or somewhere in Vermont. The drive is at times beautiful, and other times nondescript. I recognize this as an area where I have turned a major chapter in my life, making this very old part of New England look brand new to me.
2020 is a new decade, and a new life has found me in a better place. Enjoying the promises of a new day, and taking on the challenges knowing that there is a reason to feel optimistic. Passing by the old farms and houses, the rolling countryside and protruding hills that the Connecticut River winds by fills me with a sense of renewed spirit.
As I drive off in the morning to handle my daily activities, I am struck by the sight of the mountains that greet me on the other side the the river, and how they remind me of the Bearpaw Mountains in Montana that I saw 10 years ago.
