For the story of our move, check out this link:
https://grandmacharslessonslearned.blogspot.com/2017/08/two-seniors-in-condo-two-men-and-truck.html
And here we are, just a little over a year into our family's experiment in co-housing. It is a perfect day for this reflection since it is one of those extremely rare days when we are all at home, and things are humming along, just as we may have dreamed they would.
For starters, the kids are busily attending to their cleaning chores, I have spent the entire morning in my robe, attending to things on my computer with the dog resting nearby on our bed, Paul is mapping out his schedule for the day to include all relevant sporting events on TV, and Jill and Tim are here somewhere doing whatever home-related work needs attention today.
Does this happen regularly? Not by a long shot! All of us are on the go much of the time, and many of those chores and home-related tasks get neglected for days/weeks at a time. We meet in passing in the house and on the road as we drive ourselves or the kids from one activity to another. We DO eat an evening meal together fairly often - did I mention that Tim is a former chef, who really enjoys cooking?!? Count that as one huge reason this is such a positive blending of family members and their various talents!
Some of the many positives about our new life:
* I do believe we are saving money and doing something significant toward saving the environment. We share living quarters, and life's necessities as well. I can almost always come up with a bar of soap, or something for pain relief, toothpaste, or a BandAid whenever those things might be needed. Jill shops at Costco to buy things like toilet paper, snack foods, coffee and wine in quantities I never knew existed.
* Four adults and two kids is a great ratio - every family should be so lucky! We can divvy up all sorts of responsibilities, not least of which is all the driving it takes when you live in the country and kids are happily involved in various activities in town and not yet old enough to drive.
* Living with grandchildren is a wonderful blessing. It definitely helps that they are old enough to be very independent about everything and needing very little from us. But we can shower them with support and attention - a benefit for everyone involved.
Some lessons learned:
* It probably goes without saying that any living arrangement works best if the people involved are flexible and easy-going. I am pleased to report that all of us (and I include the dog here as well) pass this test with flying colors. At first, I had the feeling that we were all on our best behavior, but it's been over a year now and I am quite sure this is just who we are. We were made for this!
* At some point, there is a need for at least one person to take a serious interest in the finances involved in combining households. This is NOT my forte, by any means, and I am ever so grateful that the other three adults are willing to share this task and only involve me when absolutely necessary.
* Interesting tidbit: Auto insurance goes with the car not the driver. You might ask how we learned that, and this one definitely IS my contribution. We were sharing vehicles for a period of time and I had an embarrassing accident while driving Jill's vehicle. (No injuries, and no damage to another vehicle - just some nasty, expensive damage to the entire passenger side because I cut a corner too close in a parking garage). I didn't want to submit this to their insurance company for fear of their costs being raised. Alas, our company gently explained that I had no choice in the matter. Have you heard the ads for "accident forgiveness?" - fingers still crossed that their company will be true to their word on this. I am back to driving my own vehicle.
Regrets? Well, maybe just a few:
* I really did love living downtown. The country is peaceful, quiet and beautiful (think stars at night, sunrises and sunsets that I can actually see, even an occasional deer running through our yard), but I miss the city. And I miss being able to walk places, not just go out for a walk - problematic here because we live at the top of a hill; every direction I take requires walking back uphill! I am still working regularly and must drive everywhere I go - I use up lots more time, and lots more gas, than when we lived downtown.
* I miss my friends and activities in town. All that time spent in my car leaves little extra time or energy for visits with friends or last-minute decisions to attend a lecture. sporting event, or concert.
Overall rating at this point - I give it a full five thumbs up! Much better than I ever could have imagined. Without polling the others at this point, I feel quite confident in saying that we have made a good move and will carry on for as many years into the future as we can.
