the village people

A very wise friend mentioned recently that "it takes a village to run a household".....I hadn't thought of it like that before, but I couldn't agree more with this statement.

There is something to be said for communal living, family support and everyone chipping in....in my family, we share a duplex with my parents and we all benefit greatly.

I see my parents daily, the kids spend ample time with their grandparents and when my brother visits, we are all together.

We share outside responsibilities, so for me and my mom, its a joy and not a chore to take care of the yard, where my husband has allergies and does not enjoy it at all.
My dad takes care of the cars and he and Chris do all of the "handy man" projects around the house.
I am in charge of hair maintenance!
When we take a vacation, we have someone to look after our dog and house, of course the same goes for when my parents are away.
We eat together often because I am home during the day, so I will cook large meals with everyone in mind.
The summer is easy because there is a lot of time spent outside grilling and eating and relaxing.
When the house needs a major project, we all chip in with the expense or labor for the project and we all seem to enjoy and take pride in our home.
This situation is wonderful for DJ because he has such a strong bonded relationship with my parents, he is able to do things with them that the girls are not old enough to do.

This week, my mother was sick and spent time in the hospital due to Diverticulitis. This is where the statement about taking a village to run a household really stood out to me. We are all coming together to keep things going, with her flower shop, the other rental properties, and our household. It puts things in perspective about how much we all do to keep our "little village"
running smoothly.