Andover is helping me to realize some major things I have already done and would like to revisit again. These milestones involve living the good life, as defined by the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s.

What follows is a wish list that I wrote 16 years ago, in December 1999. I was informed that you can’t go back again. I wrote this list anyway.

• I would like to build and own a cabin in the woods again with enough land for privacy and peace of mind. My peace of mind consists of living in a quiet area with a minimum of traffic noise. My cabin would be off the main road, tucked away in the woods, a retreat away from the world, where I can garden and have a few geese. It would be quiet enough to hear the birds calling to each other, especially the Wood Thrush. I want to hear snow falling on the dry brown oak leaves. And the creaking of tree limbs in the wind.
• There is nothing better than the tangy smell of soil thawing from a winter freeze, reaching that perfect crumbling stage that signals planting time. It always thrills me to watch over planted seeds. One day there is smooth undisturbed topsoil, and the next brings tiny cracks and a pale green sprout, pushing its way through.
• I love sitting in a southern exposure in the woods, surrounded by snow, except for the small area that is warm and dry beneath my feet. The air is soft with the scent of warm pine needles and the promise of spring.
• My neighbors would be woodsmen and farmers, folks who have an appreciation for the land and the simple life, folks who know how to harness a horse and drive a tractor. No one would think me odd for cherishing my kitchen woodstove or quoting Robert Frost.
• Neighbors would have barn and house raisings. They would go to country church suppers. Ham and bean. Chicken pie.
• The older residents would share their experiences with the younger. Home remedies and crafts that would otherwise be lost if they were not passed on. Values that stand the test of time, regarding integrity and perseverance.

Perhaps this is an era gone by, but this is my wish list. Those wonderful ways of life should survive for the members of the next generation. They may choose another path, but the choice should be there.

And so, in 2016 Jim and I will be coming to live in Andover. Now I have someone of like mind and heart to share the dream. Perhaps it could be said that Andover has read my Y2K wish list and found me.

I have come home.