I read about two innovations in the news.  One is the law in France that mandates that all new commercial buildings cover their roofs with plants and solar panels. 

Brilliant. Green roofs help reduce the need for both heating and cooling, and help manage rainwater. Plus the birds have a garden in the city. 

The second is a program in Holland that invites college students to live rent free with the elderly in nursing homes in exchange for companionship. The benefits to both sides are myriad, including a stronger intergenerational connection, and financial savings. But there are pluses that don't show up on a spreadsheet.

When I lived in a dorm room in Iowa I remember being vaguely aware that I was the center of my own universe. I ate when I wanted, slept when it suited me, read on my timetable. My mother operated under the same premise when she lived alone in her late seventies. But I think there was a tinge of loneliness. The idea of those two worlds converging makes me smile.

Marriage often presents unsolvable problems. One likes to spend generously, while the other is a saver. She wants to visit her parents every holiday, while he prefers to stay home. 

What those two stories about Paris and the Netherlands suggest to me is that there are ways to integrate divergent needs. Sometimes the solutions are simple, like when friends bring their food scraps to me for my chickens. Less garbage in the landfill, and contented birds. Others take more creative thinking. 

But that makes it more interesting.