Just in time for the U.S. Census count on April 1, Pagosa Springs has added a new downtown resident.
Amelie Soleil Haas joined our ranks at 12:36am on Saturday, March 13. As I write this on Monday morning, her parents, Ursala Hudson (my youngest daughter) and Chris Haas are resting comfortably beside little Amelie, in their temporary downstairs bedroom (our living room). The stressful but ultimately uplifting birth took place in that same living room, under the guidance of three remarkable Durango midwives, following a 25-hour labor. Continued...
Ursala and Chris moved in with me last summer, shortly after Ursala found out she was pregnant — and just as my marriage was coming to an end. It was a good move for all of us; I was alone in a big empty house, and Chris and Ursala were making plans to relocate to Durango — where Ursala is a student at Fort Lewis College — after the baby was born. Living with “Grampa Bill” for a year would allow them to save enough money to start their life in Durango.
Or so we figured.
It’s possible, then, that our newest downtown resident, Amelie Haas, will soon be moving away from Pagosa — just like so many other people have, over the past couple of years.
But I’m not going to let that thought get me down. We never know what awaits us, not exactly. Who knows, maybe Amelie’s parents will change their minds — and remain here, living with Grandpa in this old wooden house on Loma Street? Maybe Ursala will reconsider her plans to go right back to college; maybe she will discover a desire to stay home with her new baby for the first year or so?
Maybe Chris will be able to find enough work in Pagosa?
Does a shared family home — with shared expenses and shared values — offer any kind of attraction, in this modern culture, and particularly in this difficult economy?
 A complex mix of forces come into play in our lives — and in the lives of our children and grandchildren — driving our decisions to remain, or leave.
Will Pagosa still have reasonably good schools, five years from now when Amelie is old enough for kindergarten? Good schools: that was one of the key issues Clarissa and I had considered when making our choice to relocate here in Pagosa Springs in 1993.
Within a few years, Ursala and Chris will find themselves contemplating school for their daughter. Will they find better schools in Durango, five years from now? How will they decide what constitutes a “good school”?
Ursala and Chris are both intelligent, responsible, and conscientious people. They are the kind of people who would make a contribution to Pagosa Springs — as parents, as members of our work force, as community members.
For the time being, this growing young family is still a part of the Pagosa Springs Census Count, 2010. As they look into the future, right at this moment, things are not entirely clear. Are they destined to leave, sometime in the next few months, and build their life in Durango? Or will they decide to stay in Pagosa?
Since Amelie was born on Saturday, we’ve seen a small stream of friends come by the house, bringing prepared meals, flowers, gifts of baby clothes.
That’s perhaps the hardest thing to leave behind: our collection of friends. Sure, schools are important. Better paying jobs are always welcome. Affordable housing is certainly a consideration.
But how about friends — a sense of community, a sense of “family”?
Don’t we have that here in Pagosa?
Could we have more of it? |