love thy neighbor

We have lived in 17 different places all over the U.S. Just about everywhere we live we form strong attachments to our neighbors. I am not sure when this habit started, but I love it! I wouldn't have it any other way.

To be honest though, I am not sure if our neighbors would say the same thing about us. Maybe our "neighborliness" gets annoying. Maybe they are tired our kids finding their way in to their garden beds and garages and riding their bikes up and down their driveway. I am not sure, but so far I haven't seen them pull the blinds when they see us coming or ignore us when we knock on the door.

We live next to some fabulously fun people and enjoy weekly dinners out on the driveway when the weather is agreeable. During the cold months I look out my bedroom window at the neglected patio furniture and tiki lights and yearn for a warm breeze and a meal straight off the grill. It's almost that time. I have opened my windows this week and left the front door open all day, much to the dismay of my concerned and cautious mother-in-law.
My garden abutts my neighbor's and we share seeds and advice- although I admit to being on the take more than she. I am new at gardening and she is a great teacher. Thankfully she is patient when I ask her for the 10th time if this particular plant is a weed or a keeper. She seems almost as delighted as I am when she spots in my garden a new bud moving the soil or a flower about to open.

My neighbors just walk in the front door; there is no need to knock. Maybe it sounds weird, and as I write this, it does strike me as a bit different. I lock the door at night and if I am going to nap or shower (although neighbor D has come in on me in the shower). When someone does knock, the girls immediately shout, "come in!" so loudly there is no pretending we're not home if we have mistaken it to be someone we know.
My neighbors threaten to lock up their garden from our pilfering hands, but I doubt they will. They love us. They threaten to sabotage us when we put our house up for sale... that can only mean they want us to stay.

Tonight I had dinner with my next door neighbor from our previous neighborhood. I think she was genuinely happy to see us, even with the little hands pulling at things and the constant nagging for snacks and drinks and movies. I miss her. I miss our visits sitting on her front porch. I miss sharing movies and books and stories. I miss grumbling about the weather and lack of produce and insanity of having to pay to recycle. I miss sharing regular meals and favorite recipes with her . I miss coming home and seeing her in her kitchen from my kitchen window. One morning at 5 am we caught each other peering in at one another and we both laughed so hard I think I could hear her from my closed up house. We are still good friends although we don't see each other quite enough.

I love my neighbors because I know they are there if I lose one of my children. I know I can find shelter in their basements if a tornado decides to come down our alley. I can borrow more than just a cup of sugar or an occasional egg. I can also call them at 3am when my house is flooding. I have called when I felt uneasy and afraid someone was hiding in my house and I have asked they ride along with me to the pharmacy so I don't have to unload all three kids just to run in and grab a prescription. I know they would jump in and help me if I needed something- even something as small as an ice cream sundae when I am in the middle of a crying jag.

I love going to bed at night, especially when I am home alone, knowing that just next door, just 20 feet away, is a safe haven, a friend....
a neighbor.