The Part-Timer’s Dilemma: The Adjustment Period

  |  July 8, 2013
Photo by Svadilfari/Flickr/used via Creative Commons license

Photo by Svadilfari/Flickr/used via Creative Commons license

Some upstaters arrived in a veritable paradise on Thursday morning, after a nearly traffic-less trip to the Accord area. What could be better? An expanse of green lawn opened before us, a large, if splintery, deck overlooking it. Heck, there was even some taxidermy to welcome us to country living. To boot, cell service was minimal and internet non-existant. Now this was vacation.

And so the emotions began. First: elation. Fresh air! No work! Children roaming free in the grass! Then: a mild form of disappointment. Ah, nuts, we were still going to be ourselves up there in the country, not transformed into sparkling-eyed literati gracing the pages of some shelter magazine (the house, better to look at than to hang out in, certainly seemed ready for its photo shoot). With no cell service and no map (despite having written about the importance of having one), planning outings was tricky and weirdly stressful. Forgotten victuals had to be retrieved from far flung supermarkets, thus requiring car time. The weather decided to be mean, and stuffy rooms in the country turned out not to be more comfy than stuffy rooms in the city.

And then, finally, such feelings wore off, and the city bodies became attuned to country life, able to appreciate the amazing vistas of the Mohonk Preserve, to sit idly, and — get this — sit on a couch with a magazine. It turned out that all we needed was an adjustment period, to shake off the city dust and get coated in the country stuff. This problem happens when you can escape to upstate New York less than once a month, and when each destination is different. The conclusion: having your own country house in the Catskills and Hudson Valley cuts down on adjustment time. Good thing we know where to find one.

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