The Beginning of Community

My new roommate and I have found ourselves perpetuating the word community lately. There are now four children and two adults living under one roof. It’s beautiful chaos; for the time being. The children don’t always agree. There have been tug of war contests between toys and children. Cries of it’s mine and get out have also become common. Today I even heard, “He keeps touching me.” I believe it all to be a great learning experience. The conversations so far have been deep and fulfilling. The events have been entertaining. For instance, my roommate’s son almost rolls on the floor with hysteria every time my son throws a fit. This makes it rather difficult for the rest of us not to spill into fits of laughter ourselves. My roommate has a dog. I have a cat. So far they avoid each other for the most part. I believe the dog would love to befriend my kitty, but thus far my cat will have none of it. I did wake from a nap the other day to find one of them lying on each side of me on the bed. I tried to get up quietly so they would be left staring at each other when they awoke. No such luck though, as my cat woke also and declared immediately that he would not be left lying next to a large, heavy-breathing beast in my absence. I was having a nice conversation with my roommate just yesterday when her dog proceeded to expel a rather nasty stream of phlegm across the carpet directly in front of us. As I shrieked in disgust she proclaimed, “Now that’s community!” Well, I guess it was a moment bonded by our laughter.