Sue Moon’s Blog

I was very blessed as a child in the early ‘50’s. No TV yet, no video games etc. We played outside even in the rain, inventing elaborate games and fantasies. We all knew each other. Families were a strong unit….the neighborhood was tight. There was a feeling of safety and freedom that I haven’t seen in a long time, or felt. I barely know my neighbors anymore. We are all so busy rushing off to this appointment or that task. And seldom do I see anyone walking. Some people walk for exercise, but I don’t really see anyone walking for the fun of it like we used to do.

My early childhood memories are strong; I knew my family loved me. I loved being around them and hearing the family stories while we prepared food or cleaned up. Always that sense of togetherness while talking and doing tasks. On my Grandmother’s 80 acre farm in Nodaway, we would sit in the kitchen and snap beans, or make pies, fry chicken, while the separator on the back porch produced the creamiest milk you would ever taste, I could go on and on. Those memories are like sweet wine.

Because of the foundational sense of belonging in the families at that time, there was also a sense of community. Of being involved in a similar way with neighbors, people in town etc. I don’t see too much of that anymore. Isolated patches here and there, but not the larger way it used to be.

Lately I have the sense that this spirit of community is making a come back. That makes me so happy. There are organizations popping up around sustainable living communities and more. I’m still dreaming of an agrarian community for my own life. We’ll see who else wants to do that.