Our new house – the house where we will move next summer – needs work. It gives the impression of having been left in mid-renovation: wires and bare bulbs dangle from the ceilings, the upstairs bedrooms lack window trim (and closets), many walls are primed but not painted, and where there is paint the job is often half finished. Also: It needs a new boiler, there’s water in the basement, and – as we discovered during a recent rainstorm – the roof leaks.

We’ve brought many friends through the new house, and they invariably react in one of two ways: either they spend the entire tour shaking their head in disbelief, or they exclaim, “This is great!” It’s a revealing litmus test of personality. There are, it seems, two types of people: those who find a blank canvas terrifying, and those who find it exhilarating.

Click here to continue reading my latest “Faith in Vermont” column in The Addison Independent.