Rural Parenting and Other Extreme Sports
Published in the World Journal, May 21th Issue
We navigate to Main Street, mostly walking in the road, sometimes stepping off at the occasional usable sidewalk or a particularly flat patch of dirt. The mourning dove’s song drifts down in between the whooshing of cars passing by. From his assigned position between me and the curb, my son coos at the cars. He coos at the doves.
We wait at the crosswalk for the light to change, getting a wave and a honk from a neighbor as they turn in front of us. Moments later, we get a whole-arm wave from a friend, at the opposite corner, waiting to cross as well. Acquaintances, work colleagues, and family pause when they pass to enjoy at my son’s newest skill (wiggling his finger at them saying “French fries!”). We drop in at the newspaper. He plays on the floor like he owns the place. We revel in the usable sidewalks of Main Street before once again being kicked to the curb when we reenter the neighborhood. Our little pink house sits on the hill, greeting us home with a crack in the stucco that almost looks like a smile.
Raising kids in my ‘Burg is more challenging than I ever could have imagined. There’s no Mommy & Me, no toddler-friendly parks, no daycare for children under three years old. The sidewalks (which you may have heard come up above) are inconsistent and generally low quality when present. There are no “options” for things like pediatricians and dentists, only the option—singular. I grew up in a suburb! I wasn’t trained to parent in these conditions!
When my mom got overwhelmed with my sisters and I, she would haul us into the car and drive five minutes to the Recreational Complex, the “Rec-Plex,” where there was an olympic-sized pool, and indoor waterslide, a Dippin’ Dots machine that we were almost never allowed to take advantage of, ice skating rinks, basketball courts, a climbing wall, and free on-site childcare for children under three. That was all free for city residents. When I get overwhelmed with my toddler, I can walk to Main Street. My husband was raised in Walsenburg. He probably had plenty of those walks — in fact, when asked about things he did as a kid “walking around town,” always seems to be a highlight.
We live here and not in my suburb because of the waves from across the road, the opportunities that we find in the network here, and the opportunity to raise our kid in a true community that takes care of each other. You don’t get those benefits by just living in a small town. You get them by choosing to be a ‘Burger, which takes work. Not everyone is going to do that. If our ‘Burgs are ever going to be an attractive option for young people - which is talked about frequently - we may consider investing in a couple sidewalks.
