A high that money can't buy

I've heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child. The 'village' that is helping us raise our children is both physical and on-line. How did parents ever cope with all the 'Why?' questions without Google? Social networking is also fantastic for arranging real- life meet-ups, particularly last minute ones when there are bored or hyperactive children who need playmates. Without the power of the internet to connect people it is unlikely that we would have met the people that we now class as good friends, and form a vital part of our 'village'. Without having met them, and grown and nurtured friendships through a combination of online communication and doing real life stuff together, then I don't think my life would be as full and rewarding as it is now.
The thing that our village seems to have in common, apart from most of them being parents, is that they not only look for, but see the really good and positive things around them, and when they see an opportunity to go, learn, do something, they take it up enthusiastically. I think if everyone had friends like ours the world would be a much happier place. We come from different backgrounds, political positions and religious viewpoints, but there is an unsaid connection with regards to trying to live a more sustainable, ethically considerate life, with our amazing and beautiful children and their life experiences at the centre.

One of the most enjoyable things I have done recently involved a large number of our 'village', who between us had a very informal bread making workshop. I can't really pinpoint exactly what it was that made it so special, but I think it was an experience that money really couldn't buy and I've been carrying a happy glow inside ever since, thinking about it.

I must admit I had low expectations of the actual bread that we would produce, but thanks to an excellent recipe and two friends who had attended a proper bread making workshop and who got the whole event rolling, by offering to share what they had learnt, we all managed to produce something delicious! Perhaps part of the feeling of the day was the feeling of baking success, perhaps it was the feeling of acceptance and equality for everyone involved, reaffirmation of existing friendships, initiation of new ones, everyone united in their desire to learn and have fun. Perhaps the stress levels dropped because the children all played really nicely and there was a wonderful smell of baking bread, perhaps it was the lovely weather and view of fields, beach and sea from the window, perhaps it was the practical nature of it - really getting our hands dirty, and the physical exertion of kneading (our informal instructor said you always need to knead more than you think you need to knead - Mum, I think this is where we went wrong all those years ago when we tried to make bread on a plastic table cloth on the kitchen floor, or maybe it was because we used dried yeast instead of fresh). Perhaps it was the feeling of working as a team, some people preparing ingredients, others washing up, everybody working together. Perhaps it was the taste of homemade soup that people had brought to share, or fresh hot cross buns with melted butter that tasted so good because of the knowledge of the huge amount of effort that had gone in to making them. Perhaps it was the chance to learn something new, different from normal and something that has the potential to be used in everyday life that made it all so satisfying.

Perhaps the feelings that I enjoyed were a result of our mini- village working as a community, to produce things that can only come from a community effort. I know there are a million and one reasons why communities don't work, but our little bread making workshop has reminded me that it does take a village to raise a child, and a child is best raised with the love, help and support of the village, whether it be a physical, geographical village, or bunch of internet village people.