Day 7 Lovin Nelson- Valuable Treasures

Give a kid a break! A beautiful little boy just came up to me while I was editing and offered to sell me a magnet, his friend and he had just made them. He then came down to Oso Negro to sell them. It takes courage to do the cold call thing, to walk up to adults and ask if they want to buy something that was just created. The part I don’t get is, he is only asking asking a dollar each, the room is filled with people drinking 3 dollar coffees and not one person bought one? He steeled himself going from table to table dealing with the “no thanks you’s”. It is not easy being a child in our culture. Kids are generally not seen during the day, they are institutionalized from breakfast till just before dinner. When I am out with my children one of the first questions which is often asked is “Why are you not in school?”. For anyone who has travelled elsewhere you probably saw how in many other cultures children are much more integrated. They go to work with their parents, they take care of each other while playing out in the streets. Kids are seen and heard all the time. They are dispersed within the community.

I want to live more in community. I do live in A community, even a tightly knit, caring community. What I really want though is to no longer live in a house with a yard, next to another house with a yard. I want community gardens, community art projects, space to be alone, space to be together, easy access to everything I need in a comfortable setting with friends all around me. And I want kids, lots of kids, to help out, to experience learning outside of a classroom. I want my children and the children around me to feel honoured and valued, I want them to know that their home-made valentines magnets are worth as much to me as a cup of coffee.

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(picture of my new magnet, and that there is Oso Negro in the background, this is the view from my “office”)

I got this little gem for 2 dollars and 50 cents, same price I paid for my cappuccino. I think I got a hell of a deal.

“How do children show up in your daily life?” is the question in 12 days journal #329

Day 6 Michael Land- Two Line Poems

For four Fridays out of the winter, the Waldorf school takes advantage of the incredible mountain just down the road and all the kids from grade three up get to ski and snowboard in the deep, dry Kootenay snow.
 
Since Chris and Bernice are still both recovering from the virus of perpetual coughing, I went as the parent chaperone and drove Ayla and her friend Amelia up to Whitewater.
 
My dear friend Lars hooked me up with some great tele gear and we met after the kids got sorted. He showed me his back country playground, and we wrote poems to god two lines long all the way down the mountain. Up here, among the peaks and clouds, is one of the most sacred places in my heart. It seems the earth kisses the sky so deeply here. Everything is so raw, so real, so tremendous.
 
While we broke for lunch Lily, Bernice and Chris’s middle daughter, and her friend Sage asked me if I would go up the chair with them. It was Lily’s first day on a snowboard, she was done with the bunny hill, and needed a chaperone to ride the big runs. It felt good that they asked me.
 
We stuck to the green run, and the first time down was made in short little spurts of a few metres at a time. The second time down she was starting to turn. The third time down we cruised, lots of turns, and fearless.
 
I left them to ride the summit chair, and they did another couple runs on their own, while I wrote a few more couplets through the trees. Then I chaperoned some girls back to Nelson.
 
Later, Amelia’s mom called for Chris. She left a message saying, when ‘your friend’ drove Amelia home she left her money in the car. She wanted to know how to get in touch with me, or if he could. It was on the home phone and I was the one who listened to the message. Amelia’s been over before so she knows I live there. I guess a lot of people still don’t understand our family situation, which is fine, it’s new for all of us.
 
Up until I met Bernice, I haven’t even had a partner with kids. Now I live with three of them and both their parents. It’s kind of like instant soup, add water and stir. Instant family, say yes and show up. Today was one of the really fun ways to show up. Add deep, dry snow, strap boards to feet, carve lines into mountain.

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(Here’s a beautiful two line poem)

“How is your family different?“ is the question in 12 days journal #292