Mindful Parenting in Vermont: Growing Roots, Finding Rhythm
When I moved to Vermont, I was chasing a dream — the kind that smells like pine needles and garden soil, tastes like tomatoes straight from the vine, and feels like cool river water running over bare feet. It was a calling to be closer to the land and to live among others who found joy in organic gardening, hiking, skiing, and the simple sacredness of nature.
I was also a young mother. One child on my hip, the other a blur of movement — a toddler with zero sense of direction and an endless supply of energy. I spent my days in a near-constant chase. I didn’t always have the tools or the patience I longed for — just love, determination, and the kind of tired that seeps into your bones.
Back then, I sourced my energy from something unexpected: storytelling. I would gather with other parents and share the messy moments — the meltdowns, the mishaps, the raw truth of trying to get it right. There was healing in the laughter, in the nods of recognition, in the shared vulnerability. We were surviving, and that survival created its own kind of bond.
But something has shifted over the years.
Today, I still tell stories — the painful ones haven’t disappeared — but the way I hold them, and the way I live with them, has evolved. The energy that once scattered in a thousand directions now feels more grounded. That shift wasn’t magic. It came from choosing mindfulness. It came from being willing to grow.
Mindful parenting isn’t about perfection. It’s about being awake to the moment — even when the moment is wild and messy. It's about recognizing our own patterns, tending to our inner landscape with the same care we give to our gardens. And it's about discovering that how we are with our children can become a path to how we are with ourselves.
Living in Vermont gave me the space to hear the quiet again — and in that quiet, I found clarity. I found energy not from the chaos, but from presence. From deep breaths. From choosing growth.
If you're walking a similar path — one foot in the forest, one hand reaching out to a running toddler — know you're not alone. Mindful parenting is a journey, and every step is worth it.
Let’s talk.
If this resonates with you and you’d like to chat about one of our mindful parenting courses, I’d love to connect. Our Spring group offering begins May 1st.
Jennifer Degen
April 3, 2025
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