Thirty-one years ago my husband and I moved to Maine from central New Hampshire, where we lived in a small town in the country outside Concord. We had a large garden, and since I was working as a potter and had my studio at home, I spent a lot of time canning the food from the garden and baking our bread.

My husband grew up in an urban environment, and when we moved his one request was that he wanted to move where there were sidewalks. I re-entered the workforce as a teacher and got a job teaching Latin at Brunswick High School. My request was for a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer that consistently worked.

The sidewalks were there, but it took a while to meet people and make friends. Staff file photo by Gregory Rec

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ruth Dater is happy to have put down roots in Kennebunk.

We found a place in Kennebunk. My commute would be long, but Tony would take up the slack by checking on our two children. Our house had a sidewalk across the street that led into Main Street, and the appliances worked. The kids could walk to school and home from their various activities.

My children were not happy about moving at first and we tried to explain to them that we were the king and queen and they were the princess and prince. The princess and prince lived with the king and queen and would be moving. It took us until Thanksgiving to acquire our house and finally move into it. We spent the Thanksgiving holiday playing pingpong (Nerf ball) on the dining room table. Anyone who came by was invited to play with us. The holiday was a lot of fun.

After a year in Kennebunk, I really missed my friends back in New Hampshire. One day I told my teenage daughter how much I missed my friends. Her comment was, “Well, if you were a friendly person, you would make friends.” I learned quickly that one does not share with a teenage daughter unless one can take the criticism.

Our children made friends quickly, but teenagers do not tend to include the parents in their activities, and it took a long time to meet the parents of our children’s friends. Working out of town also contributed to our feeling of lack of friends where we now lived. We found starting over was not easy.

I admire the Army kids I have taught who are continually moving and adjusting to a new life in a different place. But that is not my personality. I like putting down roots and making friends that last for a long time. I shudder when I think of starting over again, and luckily I don’t have to.