Make me a commune

I love that show on TLC, Sister Wives. It's about a modern day traditional Mormon family where there's one husband and four wives. I guess they're not actually Mormons anymore, since their church doesn't recognize polygamy, but they're part of a church that considers itself Mormon....or something. I don't know or care about all of the theological disagreements. But I digress.

I love it because of the community. I feel so overwhelmed by my to-do lists sometimes that I think a few extra "sister wives" would rock. Although, a few brother husbands might be nice for the heavy lifting. The women on the show are pretty good at that sort of thing too, though, so either way I'd be good.

My daughter hates the show and thinks it's strange that I like the whole idea. Yesterday she told me that she's figured out why I am attracted to the concept. It's my fascination with the nun/community lifestyle. I've often talked about how I could easily see myself as a Sister (and I wasn't raised Catholic. I'm a free spirit when it comes to religion, so the authority thing would definitely be a problem for me. It's all about the connections with other women).

Some of my best friends who also have kids with disabilities have talked in the past about a commune type of living arrangement where we all help each other out. I could so go for that. I feel isolated so much of the time. I really long for some additional companionship and help. It doesn't bode well for me that I'm also an introvert who sucks at maintaining friendships that require me to venture out of the house. I'm in a catch-22.

Seriously, though, I am feeling extra introspective lately about the future. Myself and my kids have "big ones" coming up in the way of birthdays. I'll be 50 in a few months, Daniel 13 and Melody 16 in December. I am starting to find it hard to sustain the energy for everything that needs to be accomplished in a day. Full-time work, nursing Rich back to health, therapies for Daniel, piano for Melody, shopping, laundry, cleaning....

I don't have an answer right now. Just vague images and longing for a large house split into apartments like the original home the TLC family had (they had to leave Utah when their show put them in the limelight and the authorities started making threats. Now they're in Vegas living in separate houses).

Since there's a fat chance of that ever materializing, if you have other suggestions, I'm all ears. And I'm serious. Mostly.