Marilyn Kakudo

It’s Spring 2021 and I’ve been with Adams Creek Cohousing for just over a year. What a year it has been for us all! I sold my home in Colorado and moved close to the ACC Hood River location. It’s been a year of physical isolation and yet great connection building with all of the other members of ACC. Together via many Zoom meetings we’ve worked on details of our building and site designs, educated ourselves in the governance process for our community and enjoyed each others’ company on virtual Happy Hours. We also held socially distanced work parties to restore our creek habitat and had some outdoor kid-friendly activities; a favorite was making paper and willow lanterns decorated with autumn leaves

Cohousing was an entirely new concept to me a year ago but I’ve embraced the adventure of learning a new way to live, and new ways to connect. I seem to try to learn new things every twenty years or so. The last time it was as a career changer working in bakeries and restaurants learning OJT (on the job), going to culinary school and finally becoming a culinary teacher. Prior to that it was more OJT in various jobs in software and user support/training. In fact the only job I had formal education for was my first as a middle school teacher in the Sciences.

I’m fully retired now but that doesn’t mean a life any less busy. My husky rescue dog keeps me active with lots of walks and a few hikes. I hope to learn the trails local to Hood River, and do a little traveling to get familiar with my new Pacific Northwest region. I’m loving still having four seasons, but milder temperatures that allow me to get outdoors almost every day. And Portland is only an hour away where my two grandkids, ages 6 and 3, make me a happy grandma. Life really is good!