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My friend and amazing blogger Mary over at Play Off The Page had a wonderful post and writing prompt about Neighbors recently.
“A good friend lives two doors down. She’s the kind of neighbor you can call up to ask to borrow a cup of sugar, a pan, folding chairs, or who shows up to help set up for a graduation party. The boys have great friends here, too. My house tends to be the hang-out….” {read more HERE}
There was so many similarities in her story compared to ours that it inspired me to sit down, take a few moments to reflect and to pay homage to the special people around us we call “Neighbors.”
We have lived in our house for over 25 years and though it would be tempting to move to a bigger home, we love, love, love our neighbors. FranticDaddy and myself chose this house all those years ago mainly because it was affordable (like, house-flipper-affordable) and also because it was located in his old stompin grounds. He had grown up in this particular neighborhood and his parents only lived a block away. It was centrally located, the neighborhood was quiet and the lake was right across the street. It was a newlywed version of paradise.
There are now kids in the mix and our 1000 square foot home seems unbearably small some days. Every nook and cranny is filled with something, or someone, and though we entertain thoughts of moving to bigger digs from time to time, we always come back to three main things to help us resist the urge.
1. Our current house is paid for.
2. There are amazing memories in this house.
3. We absolutely adore our neighbors.
The neighbors that are around us are all people that have been in our lives for as long as our children have been on this earth. We have “Grandmas” on either side of us who are not related by blood or marriage, but still are just as precious to us. “Grandma Suzie and Grandma Hazel” embrace our 8 and 11-year old like they were part of the family. We invite them to be apart of our holidays and watch out for each other when the going gets tough. The neighbor across the street, fondly known as “Ta-ta” (Jake couldn’t say “Todd” when he was learning to talk. To this day, we all call him Ta-Ta), lets us use their beach and raid their delicious apple trees every fall. Ta-ta will trade mouth-watering home-smoked ribs for an occasional mess of fresh-caught fish, a bargain we are all too happy to make.
Next Door Grandma Suzie has three delightful grandkids, who are similar in age to our kids, and they have grown up together. It was a sad day when they moved to Kansas, but we just got the happy news that they will be coming for a visit over the Christmas holidays and again for Spring break. We find ourselves adjusting our holiday plans so the kids will have a few precious days to hang out and play.
There are many other neighbors around us we respect and admire. FranticDaddy’s kindergarten teacher lives only two doors down and there are several other “old-timers” he recalls from childhood days still living in their original homes. The circle of life is starting to show as these chapters are slowly coming to an end. We hope an pray that the new neighbors who will take the place of the original neighborhood elders will be just as amazing as those before them.
They have big shoes to fill.
May you feel the warmth and comfort of good neighbors this year. If you haven’t done so lately, seek out your favorite neighbor and give them a hug or a plate of cookies….or both. 🙂
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