What is a family?
From: Stephanie Weigel (sjweigelstudents.wisc.edu)
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 11:36:01 -0600 (MDT)
After reading the email from the group in Arizona, who are trying to decide
whether to open up some recently available homes in their communities to
"families", I was somewhat uneasy when I came to realize that by familes
they meant "people with children".  I consider myself, my 2 dogs, and 2
cats, a family.  This is how we are constituted now, but we also include
the potential for additions down the road -- children, a partner, heaven
help us more dogs or cats, or maybe a good friend would decide to join the
family and we might live together as a functioning unit.  None of us really
knows what the future holds.

I recognize that people with children are eager to have playmates for their
children in community. It also seems that lots of cohousing discussion
centers around attracting "diversity".  I would offer that diversity
includes diversity of family strucutures.  Who knows what some of the
people who might join in one of those 3 available units might have to
offer?  Sometimes it seems it may be wise to trust the process of the
universe to bring those to us that are maybe meant to be there.

This is in no way meant to critisize the Milagro (great name!) folks,
recognizing that they like all communities are working to do what is best
for their group. Rather, in these scary times it seems important to me as a
single person to ask for inclusive consideration rather than exclusion.  I
am also interested in others' ideas of what a "family" is.

Peace.

Stephanie Weigel
sjweigel [at] students.wisc.edu
Madison, WI  
Troy Gardens Cohousing (a community in formation)



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