The Importance of Community

Lately I have been realizing how important it is to have a community that you belong to... that "community" could be family, friends, neighbors, fellow bloggers-- any group of people that helps each other out in times of need. Todd and I have been very fortunate in terms of finding a community here in Portland... We moved to Portland about 3 1/2 years ago and had no family and only a few friends in the area. However, we were lucky enough to have some friends of friends who quickly welcomed us in. Once Finn was born, I met other new mamas with kids Finn's age, and before I knew it we had found ourselves a pretty great support system here in Portland.
The strength of my community was realized as we prepared for Phoebe's birth. Friends brought by bags of hand-me-down clothes, signed up to bring by meals after the birth, and invited Finn over for play dates after she arrived. We had many wonderful gifts sent from afar, and both my mom and Todd's mom flew out to help with the early weeks of a new baby, but it was so nice to have friends here, in Portland, to offer support when we most needed it. Without our community, we would have had to buy more baby items, we would have ordered a LOT more take-out, and we would have been a lot more stressed out and isolated.
Having a community has been so important to us both in terms of our well being and our environmental impact.  Having friends who can loan you items, pass along used goods, and trade service (like childcare) helps stimulate a lifestyle where money becomes less important and where the need to purchase new items is reduced. Individuals with different skills can help one another out and things can be bartered for instead of paid for. How cool is that!? When Todd and I got married, I really wanted to have a wedding where my friends all pitched in and helped do parts of the wedding for us. One of our best friends married us, another designed and printed our invitations, and me and my mom made all of the desserts. That was a far cry from having friends do everything, as we still hired a florist, a photographer, and several other professionals, but if I would have been more organized, I think it could have been done.
As many people move away from their families to start families of their own, it is so important for us to find a support system wherever we are to help with things that the extended family used to help with. The old saying is true.... it really DOES take a village to raise a child. I am so thankful for the friends that I have, both in Portland and spread around the world, for all of the love and support that they have given me.