Mountain towns can greatly differ in their personality and they kind of people who live there. Estes Park, an hour to our north, is a haven for retirees. It’s easy to understand why — a beautiful setting on the doorstep of Rocky Mountain National Park, the town only receives 34 inches of snow per year on average, and lots of sunshine. Directly to our south lies Evergreen, Colorado, very much a bedroom community for workers in Denver who wish to live in the mountains. With a commute of 30 minutes or less via I-70, it’s easy to understand why it would be preferred by urban commuters over Nederland.
Nederland, on the other hand, is difficult to characterize in its personality, because it’s such a melting pot of different types of people. People who don’t live here jump to that conclusion based on the fame of the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival (more on that next month), and seeing a higher percentage of dread-locked people hanging out at the local B and F market. But in truth, our 1400 residents comprise commuters who work in Boulder, retirees, students, and yes, our share of hippies. The one thing you don’t see too much of are single people, with couples predominating, especially in our neighborhood. While a lot of the couples do have children, childless couples are equally representative in the area as well, more so, than I can remember from other places I have lived. I wondered, recently why that is. My theory is that people are drawn to Colorado for its recreation and travel, that folks like having the time and money to do both.
But a recent news article I saw, made me wonder, is that wrong? The Pope this week was quoted as saying that not having a children is selfish, and is symptomatic of the “greedy me generation.” More than ever, married couple are choosing not to have children. Their reasons are as varied — some because they do want to have time and money to enjoy other things — travel, nights out, recreation. Some choose not to, because they honestly don’t seem to have the parent gene, it’s not something they feel drive to do. Others were raised in dysfunctional households and honestly feel as if they wouldn’t be good parents, and want to spare children from that.
It’s awkward, when you get the question, “Don’t you have any children?” Implied is the underlying meaning that you are selfish and bad if you don’t. I admit, I try to get out of it, by mumbling excuses of we got married late, it just didn’t happen for us, yada, yada. But the truth is, I really don’t feel compelled or driven to have children. Yet, I do have great compassion for children, and for all living things — witness, the fact, that we have adopted 3 cats, and 2 dogs from shelters. At the same time, I do value the freedom and income it provides for us to do enjoy all the wonderful recreation and joy that I can experience in this amazing state — skiing, hiking, backpacking, travel. Does this make me a bad person? Does it make anyone a bad person and “selfish” to choose not to have children? I think the answers are more complex than people want to assume based on snap judgments and media stories.
