A CoHoot posted this message this morning, a clear sunny day in Oregon….
Dear CoHoots,
I can’t tell you how many times an image or a scene in CoHo just hits me in the gut and makes me remember anew how freaking amazing this place is, and how lucky we are to live here. This morning it was walking down the path and passing “A” pushing “J” [in her wheelchair], who was holding the hand of one of “C’s” kids on the way to the Common House. My god, I thought, that’s what our culture dreams about but never seems to make happen–“intergenerational relationships.” But there it is–not as a showcase as most often happens–but casually, as if it were a natural part of the community fabric. So unassuming and regular as to go unnoticed, because it’s just part of us.
Whenever people ask me about cohousing, I always tell them the same thing: It’s one of the most frustrating, taxing, busy, vexing, demanding thing in life. But it brings such amazing rewards of satisfaction, joy, learning, opening, delight and blooming as you can imagine. Just like having kids. The burdens are hell, but the rewards so far exceed those that I can’t imagine not doing it.
I’m cranky a lot (getting better!). But I love what we’ve got going here. Every time one of these scenes hit me–at least once a day–I grieve a bit for the vast majority of people in our society, thinking “Why doesn’t everyone live like this? They have no idea what they’re missing!”
Love,
“G”