12 years ago the day before yesterday, Colleen and I graduated from grad school at WVU. 12 years ago yesterday Colleen and I moved in at Bethlehem Farm, greeted by the sole Caretaker at the time, Russ Plywaczynski. 2 hours later, a group arrived from Illinois State and we met Lauren LaCoy, among others. A week later, Kathleen Brian DeRouen moved in.
Having lived in community with 35 Caretakers and hundreds of Summer Servants, and having hosted thousands of volunteers over 193 service-retreat weeks, adding three little ones to our family (the last one here at home) along the way, there is so much to be thankful for and so many people who have lifted us up.
Some things never change, like planting tomatoes in May on a college week, while so much growth and change has transpired as well. Here’s to many more years!
To borrow from Frost:
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But [we] have promises to keep.
And miles to go before [we] sleep.
And miles to go before [we] sleep.
