The month of May may say 那 Mother’s Day is within its domain, 但对我来说, 我的生日才是真正的母亲节. This July 21st will mark the 20th anniversary of 那 transformation and the first birthday where my oldest will not be with me to celebrate his life.

因为, 让人心碎, the whole point of this wild ride is to do our absolute best with our kids so 那 they can live independent of us. 这正是他正在做的. 离我的身体1200英里, part of my heart beats somewhere in the desert south of Albuquerque. 苦乐参半的,事实上.

我在为激动的一天做准备, 我越来越怀念我的第一个孩子了, 寻找他鬼鬼祟祟的笑容和狂野发型的照片. Many of those memories are surrounded by the Co-op: the family 那 works with me, 那些来和我聊天的顾客, 还有我两个儿子长大的那栋楼. When I started here, my oldest was not quite three years old, and this store was a wonderland to him. 最近我问他，皇冠网址最让他怀念的是什么, 他已经离开家好几个月了, 他说, “社区和每个人一起成长.”

The comfort of having the same cashier looking back at you as you grow. 从你几乎不能从柜台的边缘往外看的时候开始, to counting change into their hand as you nervously buy your first snack all by yourself (because your mom is chatting AGAIN with someone who didn’t quite pick up on the signs 那 she isn’t actually working right now), 直到有一天你在那里工作, helping to bag up groceries for busy holiday shoppers—this experience has shaped parts of my kid’s heart in the best ways. He trusts 那 people are mostly kind and 那 being kind to most people unlocks a secret sweetness 那 many 人 miss out on. That’s a small piece of some Norman Rockwell painting I just didn’t expect my life to include.

The teenagers of co-workers who watched my kids while I worked still wander through the Co-op, 作为员工和购物者. 我看到他们，就充满了回忆. 瑞安如何, 从事农产品生产的人, was the first cool guy 那 showed my ecstatic 9-year-old how to play a video game. 他回到家，沉浸在数码产品的迷惘中, worried 那 I would find out and my crunchy earth mama heart would be crushed 那 he had enjoyed blowing up a tank. 说实话，我有点. I tried my best to shield my kids from parts of our world 那 felt too violent or too commercial—yeah, 我来皇冠博彩可不是偶然的, 人.

Working with other crunchy earth mamas gave me mentors with great advice as I navigated trying to raise my kids with values 那 weren’t always popular. Bev, the gal who hired me at the Co-op, was a source of much of this wisdom. I envied her commune ways and how she raised her kids on snacks made from carob and honey. Once I was conflicted about a very simple thing: my kid wanted nothing more than a Spiderman sweatshirt he had seen at Goodwill. I’m tempted to alter the details of this because I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was 那 crunchy—not to mention the school he attended didn’t allow any “character” shirts. 贝弗鼓励我尽可能多地答应他, because giving your child what their heart desires is a fleeting gift. I bought it and the Strawberry Shortcake sweatshirt he also wanted. She was right: 那 was an easy ask and an easy yes with a big 接受微笑和拥抱.

It wasn’t just the people of the Co-op who helped to nurture my family—it’s the products, too. 农产品区, 有来自世界各地的新鲜而独特的水果, 经常成为餐桌上的中心摆设. 在与工作人员的谈话和YouTube视频之间, we’d try to figure out the when and how of eating a Cherimoya or a Buddha’s Hand. We’d wait for the arrival of the Taylor’s Gold Pears and try to describe their unique flavor—was 那 a hint of pineapple? Or try to recreate a dish with fried plantains our oldest once had when he was in Ecuador, 这次旅行是他在这里工作赚来的.

住在西区, 我们会观察在地里干活的人, and they’d wonder if those strawberries would be sold at the Co-op and then go find the farms 那 did sell to us. We’d talk about what organic means and how of the many benefits to the people and the planet, being able to support our neighbors so they can work in a field without being exposed to chemicals is the best reason to pay a little more for food.

The deli sandwiches have been consumed on the picnic table in our backyard countless times and 那 satisfaction of having your child snarf down a big, 健康的饮食是无价的. 在炎热的夏天, I’d bring home a jar of Jeff’s 花园s Greek Pepperoncinis, 几罐圣克鲁斯树莓柠檬水, 还有新口味的炸薯片. 此时此刻, I was too tired to fully take in the preciousness of those moments, but now I do get a little misty-eyed in the condiment aisle.

当我怀第二个儿子的时候, I worked in Human Resources until a few weeks before my due date. 我的同事们捐钱给我买了分娩盆, and when he was born in mid-August at home with the help of a midwife (who still shops at the Co-op with her family), I’m told 那人 were laughing and hooting in the aisles in his honor. He recently bought a hammock in mercantile for a school camping trip, he gave the cashier my Co-op number and followed it up with “I’m Nancylee’s son,” to clarify 那 he got the discount because his mom worked here. 他不在这里工作...然而,. Standing behind him was his kindergarten teacher who didn’t recognize him because life’s changes are never so shocking as they are between the age of 10 and 14. She was shocked by his height and his voice and his short hair, but he recognized her. Even if he didn’t remember how she used to sing songs with him about Springtime flowers, 他在皇冠博彩, 随之而来的是熟悉的舒适感. He grew up knowing 那 this old brick building with his mom’s office on the third floor and an elevator he used to have to stretch up on his tip toes to hit the UP button is full of kind people who want a kinder world.

一个成长的好地方