What's a heaven for?

This is Shaggy. (I've responsibly changed his name, for internet security)

He's one of the neighbor children.

I'm finding that I really enjoy having little kids around, and enjoying even more that I'm not their parent. Is this a preview of being a grandparent? I hope so!

Shaggy helped when some of my permie friends and I added a gate between my property and the cohousing. Little kid help, which is at once endearing and perilous. It takes skill to keep them busy and out of the way of heavy things which might fall on them. My favorite part? Out of the blue, this young person says, "I love you, Bob. You're a good friend."

"I love you too, Shaggy."

"Yeah, we're good friends."

(All the ladies go "Awww...")

Living in community is alerting me to just how much I need to live in community. Waking me up to how dead I am inside, chasing after "the good life" crammed with stuff and running so fast, I can never catch up. This other path, one of shared resources and shared responsibility, calls to me powerfully. I suppose, growing up with so many siblings and all the neighborhood kids over all the time, wired me to expect a shared life. I expected to have a large family of my own. With just two kids and a wife who spends so much time working, I suppose I've been feeling a bit... dry.

I am watered by this new place, this new group. I'm eager to discover who I become, exploring this shared journey. I bet I grow to be even more loveable.