Celebrating intergenerational families through family concerts
In the 1970’s, many of us were launching childrearing practices that we ourselves had not experienced. Sometimes, when we watched our children running around with abandon, barefoot and half naked, we wondered what the result would be. Would these “free” children amount to anything? If you are a parent now with similar worries, feel reassured. Children who are encouraged to pursue their dreams, whether in the natural world or the arts or whatever, will come out happy and competent adults living out these dreams.
This week, by chance, I had a confluence of second-generation friends at my house, in the form of two sets of children of old and true friends who co-parented with me in the 1970’s. One of these children, Eli Rosenblatt, was traveling from Seattle as a professional musician and gave two concerts at Peregrine School, one for campers during the day, one for families in the evening. It was a delight to see that Eli, whose mother I knew when he was a baby, is now an accomplished musician with a boy of his own.
Coincidentally, this same week, another mutual friend’s family was in town, sharing in the concert and sending their child to my school’s explorer camp. This friend was an amateur naturalist as a child, creating “cat traps” when he visited us in the country, and both he and his wife are now well-established bird biologists who share their expertise in science with local schools. How satisfying it is to see so many childhood dreams come to fruition, and to still be connected across generations.
We live in a high-stress, high-pressure world, in which children and families worry about getting into the right college, prep school, or even preschool. Yet I can attest from many examples among my friends that children who are allowed and encouraged to follow their dreams will find a way to succeed by acting them out. I firmly believe that every child has a path to follow, and has the right to follow it. This requires adults who believe in the ephemeral visions that children have, and do not say: “That’s a fine interest, but at some point you will need to get practical…”, but rather “how can I support this thing that is so important to you?”
Part of the answer lies in community. I loved watching children dance and twirl during Eli’s family concert. Family concerts are a place where we can share within a broader community. Maybe you are not musical, but you know people who are. The same goes for any other passion or interest.It takes a community to raise a child partly because children need the resources and talents which a community larger than their family can provide.Get out your picnic basket and join your friends in the park, and to your surprise, you may find yourself at a picnic with these same friends, their children, and their grandchildren two or three generations later.
