Small town life

Maybe one of these days I will settle down and live in a community that I can call my own. And I hope that this community is something like Acworth, NH, where the wonderful Barb Neff-Davis lives. I just had the pleasure to spend the past week with Barb on her farm in Acworth, NH and it was a pleasure to share that week with her, as well as with her whole town. I lived life with Barb and met many of her friends and acquantainces as well.

What's so special about Acworth? Or more specifically Barb's farm? Well, about 30 years ago Barb and her former husband began to homestead some land. It started with a cabin without electricity and water and a small garden. The farm has grown since then into a main house and a few dwelling around the property. She continues to maintain a simple lifestyle. On cold days we build fires in her wood burning stove to heat our dwelling, to bathe with warm water also required firing up the stove, meaning on warmer days this was didn't occur as often.

But what is truly beautiful about Barb's life are the people that she shares it with and the way she chooses to pass the time. I met Jenny and Stan who have lived their whole married life without electricity or running water and grow Pansies for their income as well as prune and pick apple trees. We participated in a communal work day, helping a friend and his wife haul firewood from the forest he is clearing. We attended a fundraiser at the fire station for a firefighter that was in a car accident. We attended church yard sales, visited the town store, made meals together, attended church, watched community baseball, shared Paraguayan traditions with the high school, worked in the garden, pruned fruit trees...

Growing up in the suburbs this lifestyle that Barb has chosen to live, was not one I was as familiar with. Sure, small town life has its irritations. But there was a bond that was felt between Barb and her community. These people care about her and want to see her succeed, the same way she cares about them.

It was a great vacation in Acworth, NH. One that was much needed after four months of sitting and writing papers for graduate school. I hope that I can take some of what I lived and apply it to my own life, and maybe in 10 years when my life begins to settle down and Barb is tired of farm life I will inherit the farm and make that life my own. 

Neighborhood Potluck

The sky was cloudy as we set out the wide variety of dishes for our neighborhood potluck but it didn't keep the people away. This annual event is one that I remember going to since I moved with my family to this street when I was only 6 years old. Back then it was a place to meet the neighbors around me. This time I was catching up with people who I haven't seen in years, but have always been a part of my life. Whether it was taking care of their cats when they went out of town, babysitting their kids, weeding their gardens, singing carols on Christmas eve, or simply hanging out, I know these people. These people care about me. They were interested to hear what I have been up to and what is next.

I also met people and conversed with people who I don't know, or only know just a bit. The bond became stronger as we found things in common, and as we understood our differences in regards to the context that we come from.

When the rain started to come down nobody moved. Everybody was content to continue in their conversations. We wanted to be together and enjoy being in the presence of one another. The children, of all ages, continued to play together in the surrounding yards. We laughed, we joked, we listend, we spoke. We even mourned together the loss of loved ones over the past year. The mosquitos and another pocket of rain finally chased us indoors and some continued to socialize into the nights at one neighbors' house.

Amongst hearing so much criticism these past few years about the suburbs, I couldn't help but recognize that this isn't one of "those" suburbs. We aren't disconnected people sharing a space. We are a community that cares for one another.