Somerville with Townie Tim: Having children

We all live in various bubbles of insular thought, and one of mine is about to be broken. Up until now, I have been your humble correspondent, the typical neo-Somerville resident. My wife and I moved here from other parts of the country seeking a cool living situation in a relevant part of the world. We came here for our jobs and chose this city because we thought it would be a good community; there are lots of young people and lots of things young people like to do. Those years ago, we did not necessarily think of Somerville as a place to raise a family or as a place that could be our "forever home."

Our thinking, dear readers, has changed. This month, my wonderful wife (Mrs. Townie Tim) and I will be welcoming our first string bean of a child into the world. Somerville will be her first home. Over the last year I’ve gotten to tell stories about this place. Through those stories and the shared experiences we have had with this community, Somerville has become more than a cool place to live. No matter what, for the rest of our lives we will say that we began our family in this town. If that is not the definition of planting roots, I don’t know what is.

And the wonderful thing is, now that we have started down this road, we have found so many wonderful folks traveling alongside us. Did you know Somerville is the 34th best city in the U.S. to raise a child? Did you know that there are food pantries and clothing swaps for new parents? Did you know that at almost any hour there are parents walking their strollers along the community path? I certainly did not until a few weeks ago. But now I am overjoyed to be living in a community that embraces the next generation.

If anything, I regret that I did not know more about raising children in Somerville. When we first moved here, we tended to try to just consume the good things about this place. All the farmers' markets, local shops, Sox games and places to eat were just things we did to have fun. We participated in all those activities with folks that were by and large similar to us: working regular jobs with no kids. Now with a child on the way, I am realizing how much value there is in a community that embraces its youngest members. I realize now that I am cheating myself when the company I keep is only a reflection of my age. Understanding the different parts of our community should not be something that I experience when I have to, it should be something that holds the generations of our town together.

I can’t wait to tell my daughter stories about the Broadway Bridge construction, rides on the T, crazy winters and all the questionable columns her dad wrote for the TuftsDaily. Thanks for making this community a wonderful place for our daughter.