In my past life, I was impatient, high-strung, constantly flitting from one task to the next, but here, if I wanted hot water, I had to wait for a fire. If I wanted enough water pressure to take a shower, I had to wait for the dishwasher to finish running. If I needed to use the bathroom, I had to wait my turn. In fact, things were so serene here compared to the rest of the world that whenever I drove into town to the grocery store, I felt overwhelmed by the people and traffic.
