Kirstin Mitchell: Sharing the Joy

Kirstin Mitchell shares about how she built community amongst friends.

Joy, for me, is a musty, rented house last remodeled in the eighties. It has uncomfortable beds, dingy carpet and spider webs on the windows. The kitchen is sparsely equipped – plenty of plates but never enough silverware.

The bathrooms have drains that clog, paper thin doors and exactly one hand towel each. The decor is blue and green, with artwork that says “Life is Better at the Beach.” Across the street is another house that is, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable.

And for the past two decades, these houses have accommodated 14 adults, 16 children and a whole lot of joy. It started in 2002, when eight of us arrived at the UC Berkeley campus for math camp, a quantitative refresher for our MBA program. Over time, we coalesced into a close-knit group, and soon the first annual getaway was planned. In the early years, it was a couples’ affair, full of wine and laughter, card games and sleep.

Then the babies arrived, one after another, 16 of them over the course of six years. Sleep was scarce and days were choreographed around meals, naps and baths. As the children grew, there were giant holes to be excavated, waves to be ridden, frisbee games to be played and arguments to be moderated. There were tacos on Saturdays, burgers on Sundays and roasted marshmallows by the campfire.

In the midst of all this chaos, we supported one another through parenting challenges, marital issues, diagnoses and loss, and celebrated births, promotions and college acceptances. We watched each other’s children grow up and felt pride in their achievements as though they were our own. We’re long past the days of lugging diaper bags and snacks to the beach.

In fact, 2025 marked a new milestone; it was the first year that we had adult children in attendance. When one of them asked how we’d all fit into the houses once they had kids, I knew that they had adopted the tradition as their own. And that, to me, is pure joy! With a Perspective, I’m Kirstin Mitchell.

Kirstin Mitchell is an independent consultant and mother of two in San Carlos. She is heading back to school in the fall to get her master’s in social work.