Great Neighbors

We live in a world where doors must always stay locked and cars safely stowed away at night. You are taught from a very young age not to trust strangers. That is why I find our neighborhood so refreshing. It is a small ray of light that this world truly is still a good place at heart.

Our neighborhood is by no means old fashioned, but our neighbor mentality is old fashioned. We have the gay couple next door and the lesbian couple on the other side. We have the couple with the newborn and the couple trying for their first. We have the newlyweds, the newly living together and the empty nesters. We have professors, designers, computer techs, producers, flight attendants, pilots, politicians, engineer, and dog trainer.

One night not terribly long ago, our neighborhood narrowly escaped being hit by the downtown tornado. When I say narrowly, I mean six lanes of traffic between us and the tornado. My husband and I were not home, but our beloved pooch was home alone. Much to my disbelief, our neighbor had braved the weather and taken our pooch to his home to ride out the storm. We didn’t call, we didn’t text, he just knew she was home and we weren’t. He kept her with him until we could make it home to her.

In another situation straight out of a nineteen fifties sitcom, I was having a dinner party, and my piece de la resistance was not done. I had run out of sugar for my chocolate icing. Not knowing what to do, I ran next door and borrowed a cup of sugar. I know! A cup of sugar!!! There was no lid, it was not sealed. I trusted my neighbor not to poison my sugar.

Our neighbors truly enjoy each other. In the summer we chill by the pool all weekend together. In the spring we walk our dogs together. In the fall we gather to watch football together, and in the winter we have bonfires together.

That is what we do here in our modern day sitcom neighborhood. We are not perfect. We bicker at home owners meetings, and we sometimes forget to pick up our dog’s poo, but we respect and are there for each other. In this world it is a rare thing to find a group of unrelated people who care and enjoy each other so much. It brings hope that goodness does exist in large doses.

My tip for finding this blessing for yourself…be a good neighbor. Loan some sugar, rescue a dog, and throw an impromptu party!