Lucy Beck		Debbie Ramsdell
	Tanya and Matthew		Marjan van den Belt and Robert Costanza
	Marlee, Rick & Nina		The Devine Family
	Per, Jenny, Solvei & Aren Eisenman		Cara Taussig and Marty Gawron
	Dennis and Trisa Gay		Marc Greenblatt
	Shelia Kerr		Carina Cartelli and Joe Lasek
	Melissa Mcginty		Sarah Sinnott
	Elizabeth Storey		Larilee Suiter
	Peter van Schaick		Mary Van Vleck
	Clark and Suzanne Hinsdale		Jonathan, Lorelei and Finn Atwood
	Gordon Gieg and Amy Snyder

OUR LIFE AT CVC
from city rats to country mice . . .
Rick and I moved from Brooklyn, NY to an attached home at CVC in January of 2007. We met in Philadelphia about eleven years ago, moved together to San Francisco, and then lived in NY for the last eight years. We loved loved loved our life in Brooklyn-the fabulous friends, food, creative energy, diversity, intensity-until Nina was born. And then nothing felt more important to us than having grass she could roll in, mud to muck around in, clean air to breathe, a place to play with friends where she was safe and free, and the ability to play without it being scheduled for her.

Now we don't think we could ever live in a city again. To be surrounded by such natural beauty makes every day feel like the sacred gift that it is. We often go for walks or bike rides with Nina in the early morning and again at dusk, bringing us a deep sense of well-being as we learn about the joys of living in rhythm with nature.

But we suspect that we would not be happy living in the country without cohousing, as we are both very social and so would feel too isolated. We are enjoying the opportunities that exist here for building deep connection with others, for learning about ourselves and growing through this connection.

As a new mother, I have found that co-housing provides much-needed support to me. The shared meal preparation is simply life-changing-eating healthy, delicious food is important to me, especially as I am breast-feeding a fifteen month old, and I found it challenging to care for a baby while getting the housework and meals done. I would rather be discovering the world with Nina than cooking every night. Because of her familiarity and relationships with the other children and adults, Nina happily toddles off with one of them if I do need a break to get some work done or just to take a shower. As a stay at home mom, I didn't miss my work per se, but I did miss being on a team working towards a common purpose. At CVC, I have other people with whom I share the work of family and community building with. Where I lived in Brooklyn, I had many great moms to "play" with, but here I have more activity-based relating--cooking meals together, creating art projects, working on committees, etc.

WHO WE ARE
Rick and I agree that we are most proud of the fact that we have learned to be loving, joyful, respectful partners and parents, as well as trustworthy and supportive friends to others.

Love, work and knowledge are the foundations of our happiness.

Marlee
Born in Korea, I immigrated to the US via adoption when I was two and a half. I have been fortunate in having the freedom to choose work that connects to one of my deepest passions--children's rights. I worked as a juvenile defense attorney for a short while before frustration with the system led me to founding and directing a youth activist organization in the Bronx. I switched jobs in January 2006 to being Nina's mom, which satisfies me more completely than any work I have ever known. I have been maiden; I am now mother; as I look towards the next phase of my life, I believe living in cohousing will help me in my ongoing efforts to nurture the wise old woman I am growing into.

Rick
I am currently a director at a web company, and had worked for years prior (and was trained) as a geologist. My primary passion besides being a papa is music. I have been an independent musician since college, playing in all kinds of bands, and now solo: see www.rickcusick.com. I love to figure out how and why things work, whether mechanical, biological, political, or electronic. As a younger man, I was a serious athlete, and while no longer serious, I still enjoy a good run, baseball or soccer game, barefoot if possible. Vermont, and especially the Champlain Valley area, reminds me very much of where I grew up in Pennsylvania.

Nina
Nina is a Zen master who eats when she's hungry, sleeps when she's tired and all her work is play. She loves to run, sing Yankee-doodle, play peek-a-boo, feed the chickens, and is fiercely determined to learn to do everything she sees the big kids doing.

WHY WE CHOSE COHOUSING
Cohousing allows us to live more fully the deeply held values that we talk about. As soon as we learned about co-housing, we knew we had found the way we wanted to live; we just needed to pick the right place. We and our friends have always talked about living together in a village, a place where we could build deep connection, gathering at the end of the day to feast on food and conversation, to play music and dance, and to share our children. After visiting CVC, we felt like we had found that village, and it was already full of wonderful folks we would be happy to build friendships and community with.

Cohousing also resonates deeply with our ecological values. We are happy to be moving into a lifestyle where we will be recognizing and respecting the interdependence of all life through sustainable living. In conjunction with this, we are so happy to be moving into the country, where going for a walk in beautiful nature means a walk out our front door, rather than a train ride or car ride out of the city!

We are also very excited about the benefits of cohousing for children. We believe strongly in child-centered societies as we regard caring for children as among our most sacred duties. The first time we visited a cohousing community, we were so struck by the freedom and safety the children have. We love that Nina can choose her activities and play without needing to schedule play dates or sign up for classes.