I am very lucky to have lived in Charlotte since 1966 and was astounded at my good luck of discovering a cohousing community developing in my own hometown! That is really how I came to cohousing–by living where one was being formed–not by looking for one.
I attended the University of Vermont as an out-of-state student and then lived in Boston for a few years before getting smart enough to move back to Vermont in 1965. That year I married my first husband and moved to Charlotte where he had grown up. We had two children: Lynn and Seth. They are now both in their thirties and married, and I have one beautiful grandchild named Safi. That marriage ended in divorce after 12 years, and I continued to live in Charlotte with the children and to work fulltime at various office jobs while they went to school. We had quite a nice, active life and took trips as often as we could to Europe, Alaska, Mexico, Bermuda, etc., but were always happy to return to Vermont.
After 13 years of being on my own, I met and married my second husband who moved into my home in Charlotte. We had nine wonderful years together, bicycling, hiking, skiing, etc. Unfortunately, late in 1996 he was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer, that had already spread to his liver, and he passed away two and a half years later in 1999.
Since then, I have become involved in politics, serving on the Selectboard in Charlotte and working for legalizing medical marijuana in Vermont as well as other issues at the statehouse in Montpelier. I bicycle weekly with a group of friends (known as the Silver Streakers), and I try to hike and ski as much as I can the rest of the year. I am taking piano lessons. In fact, it seems that several members and prospective members of Champlain Valley Cohousing are pianists.
I am enjoying living in a community with people who like to garden and do other things that I want to learn more about. I realize that I enjoy doing most things much more with other people than alone and am looking forward to working with my cohousing neighbors on all kinds of projects and activities. I also look forward to being part of each other’s families and for the opportunity to help and be helped by everyone in the community. I am especially looking forward to preparing and eating meals together in the common house.