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Show Page 6 The West View A Family of— Neighbors Wasatch Cohousing by Heather Hirschi and is gaining throughout oday, I walked down to. Kellie and Jon’s house to see their newly ~Noah. adopted baby, Vicky and her two-year- old daughter, Gracie, accompanied me. Soon, Genny, Henry, North popularity America. Wasatch Commons Cohousing is located in the Glendale area _and is the only cohousing community in Utah. Wasatch Commons Cohousing broke ground five and my son, Zane, joined us. years ago. Legally, our commuWe all greeted the newest memnity is set up as a condominiber of our. community, and um, but we manage and maincooed over his starry.eyes. On — tain the property ourselves. my way home, I ran into Helen There are no_ ideological on the common path. It was the requirements for living in first time I’d seen her since she cohousing. We don’t share a returned from her mother’s common religion or any other funeral. As I offered my sympa- _ social or political ideology. thies, Joanne came out of her However, we share some comhouse to give us each loaves of mon values that compel us to bread she’d picked up at live consciously with our Vosen’s Bakery. neighbors. How often, in a single afterOur neighborhood’s physical noon, do we share birth, sorrow | design facilitates social interac- and bread with neighbors? How often do we even talk to tion. We have 26 homes our common path, all along with kitchen windows looking out on the path. Our community, like most cohousing neighborhoods, consists of private homes as well. as common facilities. extensive ~ We have meals together about three times a week in our common house, which sits in the center eof the community. We meet as an entire Community twice a month and make decisions The common kids gathered in or aol path and house at Wasatch Cohousing, the house for hours hasn’t changed, but I know each child and each parent at Wasatch Commons. When kids are at my house, I know their parents care where they are and know they’re safe. Best of all, the kids can roam outdoors. have In common tetherball and areas, we two play structures, and a wonderful climbing and swinging area, built from by cohousers entirely recycled materials. The kids ride bikes, skates and scooters along the common path and play basketball at the through consensus. Gardening, north end. When the weather’s - landscaping, — -and_ building bad, they can play in the com-maintenance are other activities. mon house kids’ room. that we share. Cohousing. a way of My husband, George, Zane reclaiming the lifestyle of an Genny and Cedar add their and I moved into cohousing ~ old-fashioned neighborhood. handprints to the common ‘two years ago this month. We As a parent, I feel a sense of playroom wall. moved from another West Side safety here. I know that all the neighborhood where we lived parents here know Zane as well our neighbors with more than in a comfortable house. George as I know their kids. The parpassing greetings? At Wasatch had built a play structure in our ents committee meets regularly Commons, we talk a lot. We yard where all the neighbor- _ to discuss parenting issues. We also work, eat, and dance hood kids would gather to also plan activities with the together. We’ve been known to romp. Often, they would be in whole community. sing together, and grieve and: out of the yard and our Knowing people well, means together, and we have more house from morning to dusk. I sharing difficulties. We argue meetings than any of us would appreciated having kids around with and confront each other wish for. | for Zane to play with, but I about our own behavior and our We live in Sbhoiine’ a type rarely saw or interacted with kids’ behavior, but we don’t of intentional community that their parents. | stop at disagreement or discombegan in Denmark in the 1960’s In cohousing, the scenario of fort. This is one of the impor- tant: characteristics sf cohous- ing; we keep talking through the discomfort to get to some kind of understanding. This process can be painful, but the clarity that comes from honest interaction builds trust and intimacy. That’s why I feel safe here, as a parent, and as a member of the community. I _ trust that we will work together Wee hard times, and that we’re all concerned about each other’s safety. Being a neighbor in cohous- ing is not the casual relationship the word had previously connoted for me. In the past, I would shut the front door and be home, the rest of the street shut out. Now, “home” feels larger than the span of my house or yard. If I experience some difficulty with a neighbor, I can’t shut it out by shut- Salt Lake City. ‘tin g the door. Eventually, I have to talk to my neighbor and find an understanding, because we Share this home. When I come home to cohousing, I sometimes feel like I’ ve come home to a family of neighbors, a family with all its inherent complexities—a web of relationships that matter. Heather and Hirschi is a writer teacher who lives at. Wasatch Commons. Three houses are currently available at Wasatch Commons. Contact Vicky Wason, 908-0388, for more information or to schedule a tour. To learn more about Wasatch Commons, visit our local website: www.econ.utah.edu/coho or visit www.cohousing.org for more information about cohousing, in general. oe SALTY DOGS Day care*Boarding»Training-Grooming 614 S 400 W SLC, UT 84101 328-DOGS (3647) Fax 328-1462 www. salivdogsul. com: | : | | |
