Community

This morning, Gillen and Jesse shared tools to release the transformers that they had frozen in cups of water the day before. I shared this idea with them after reading Helen's blog. Who knew this was going to be so exciting for them.

My kids have been raised, much of the time, in a barn. We have been farming since before they were born. It goes with the territory. In addition, one could (one who is rude and hasn't spent enough time in the country - like my former self) even look at my children, when they are peeing outside or eating a piece of meat with ravenous gusto, and easily say,
"Boy, were you raised in a barn?"

These are not the reasons I named my blog "Barn-Raising." Though it's nice that the name does double-duty.

A barn-raising is about community. A big, supportive group of neighbors, both friends and family, jump in to lend a hand, or a meal or a strong back. It really would be so cool if we could all get together to help build one another's houses or take care of one another's children or meals or exhaustion when needed. I know this happens in many places still in the world, even in small rural places like mine. Since we aren't living in one of them, for now, I am talking about another kind of community. I get so much from you other bloggers who are also unschooling, or creating, or farming, or losing your mind, or just questioning. My kids get to see your kids' bird sightings or that you also have a boy who wants to sew or that there are kids just like them in far away places doing similar things but in a different climate.

We have really good local friends who home school,create and parent but they aren't a yell-for-unschooling-or-craft venture-help away, living as remotely as I do. Those on my block may not hear me if I yelled. They could have their hearing aids turned off. Plus, they can't show me what it's like to live in Maine, Boston, Minnesota or Zimbabwe or how they would take a picture of a leek after a rain.

Thanks to my semi-local, IRL community and to my on-line community.