In one year, I’ll join many of my friends in the ranks of the empty nesters. All of us admit that, for the most part, our children respond to this transition with greater resiliency than we parents do. For 18 years, we witnessed their ability to cope with stresses and strains of growing up. It is equal to, and many times far greater than, our ability to deal with the task of raising a family. They fly the coop; we barely drag our battered bodies out the door.

I say this in jest, really, because parenthood has truly been one of the joys and blessings of my life. I was transplanted to Peoria, and being the passionate gardener I am, I believe in obeying the imperative, "Grow where you are planted." Peoria has been kind to me, and I have thrived. Moreover, my children have thrived and I feel very lucky to have raised them in the Peoria area.

First off, the necessities of family life are easily accessible. Peoria is just a big little town. Twenty to 30 minutes traveling time gets you where you need to go regardless of where you live, with minimal traffic headaches. Good choices exist on all educational levels. Extracurricular programs in sports are well developed—especially soccer and swimming—and there are numerous cultural opportunities in music and the arts. Church communities are strong.

The environment is relatively pollution-free in central Illinois, though it lacks the likes of Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s. If one is looking for top designer clothes, they are a day trip away. But that’s not such a bad trade-off for clean air and a minimum of noise pollution. We do not have much bumper-to-bumper traffic, and it is still easy to find grass.

However, raising a family anywhere is not for the faint-hearted. The modern "village" has changed, and it is no longer necessarily defined as a place on the map. Rather, it is an association of family and friends. The mythological creature called Superwoman vanishes when faced with reality, and eventually we need others just to accomplish the daily routines of raising a family. We might not always need an entire village, but we must have at least one neighborhood to rely on.

I remember the evening I ran my fingers through the thick hair of my toddler and discovered little watery blisters. I was a nurse, my husband a doctor. I wondered if it could be chickenpox beginning to emerge.

Textbooks do not describe what chickenpox feel like. A call to my neighbor, an experienced mom thrice over, confirmed my suspicions and prepared us for the distress that lay ahead. During the next several years, the cuts and scrapes and bee stings came to pass; kids not getting home on time and countless school situations that needed resolution. Experience, maturity, and common values of middle America’s moms and dads are pooled here in our village of Peoria, and we all benefit from them. We have a marvelous blend of accomplished, diverse people, with a well-centered attitude about raising families.

Literally and figuratively, one needs to have someone to borrow eggs from. The metaphorical eggs, like the one mentioned above, are probably the most important, but literal eggs can make or break a 5-year-old’s birthday cake.

As in the business world, the ability to network is an essential factor in raising a family effectively. This network of parents with whom one shares the family-first attitude begins in the neighborhood play groups and preschools, and extends to scouting parents, churches, homeroom moms, concessions workers, and so on. It helps parents keep their finger on the pulse of what is happening in the non-adult world. Children have their networks. Ours need to be wider and longer, given the number of schools and other organizations kids become involved in.

The greatest thing about raising a family in Peoria is the ease with which parental networks become established. The area is small enough that connecting with other parents who are immersed in the same struggle becomes a daily occurrence. Over time, these various parental contacts become friends. Years may go by in the interval between seeing one another, but the individuals behind the faces create a fabric woven and strengthened as the years go by. This fabric sustains us as we travel down the road of raising a family. It supports us when we hit the potholes and wraps us in warmth during times of joy.

One of the greatest gifts my husband and I have given our children, especially in light of recent events, is their relatively carefree early years of childhood. They will be earnest adults much longer than they were lighthearted kids. Jackie Kennedy Onassis said, "If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much." Residing in the Peoria area encourages us to not bungle. What I am saying, more correctly, is the "village" of Peoria—the network of values and relationships—does its part in assisting us to raise good, strong families. TPW