It’s like anything, right? It depends on what is used to create it, how many times it’s changed, and how often…
Community can bring us up, but it can also bring us down. At times, we change our community voluntarily; and at other times, we really don’t have a choice.
We are all part of several communities. Although there may be times we don’t feel we have a community to turn to, we do.
Why do we chose the communities we chose? Our communities project that which is most important to us.
I live in a suburb outside a large city. I moved here when I became a mom and wanted a community that included quiet streets, backyard swings, and a “main street” area where I can enjoy myself or my (now teenager) can as well. Would I live here if my life were different? Perhaps not.
When we create a community for ourselves and our children, we look to make it the most comfortable while being beneficial in the long run. We weigh things like how important the quiet streets are if it includes an hour+ in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get to work daily?
Thankfully, when it comes to creating a community for our little ones, we are pretty much the designers. If we see an opportunity, we add that to their community. If we see a red flag, we quickly scoot in and direct their attention elsewhere.
That doesn’t really change until school starts. When that happens, the areas of their community widen immensely, and this is our first glimpse of them weaving their away-from-mom-and-dad-self. As a parent, we worry whether we taught them the best strategies to deal with life away from home. Sometimes we did and sometimes we didn’t. Nonetheless, there are always new techniques waiting to be figured out (probably on the fly) and to be shared to help make it through another day or a community without a parent.
Communities are like blankets for us all. Hopefully, we are able to find more soft, comfy ones than the scratchy ones that leave our toes exposed to the cold.
– Beth H, NEW BOOK JOY Guest Contributor
