Love Thy Neighbor

I have lived in this house for seventeen, going on 18 years.  It is on a short dead end street. in a heavily wooded area.  Heavy enough that the other four neighbors on my street are totally hidden from view.  But they are there.  Always have been.  Not so that you would notice.  They have their lives and, until the last couple of years, so did we.  It was mostly waves from the porch, or chance meetings in the street.  But you always knew they were close.

Two years ago, ‘we’ became ‘me’ and although my life changed, my address didn’t.  I was just living there alone. This, I have found has had more affect on those around me then it has had on me.  I have discovered I am being watched.  One lady said she was concerned that “if something happened to you, we wouldn’t know”.  I told her that “if my shades are not up by 8AM, call me”.  Since she and another neighbor frequently walk in the morning, this seemed to satisfy her. Others call just to see if everything is OK and ask if there is anything they can help me with.  I assure them I am fine and thank them for their offered support and their being there if I were in need. 

So, the other day when my phone rang, I was pleasantly surprised when one of my neighbors was proposing not words, but action.  This lady has five or six grown children who, in turn, have produced 12 grandchildren, and one is in the process of producing number 13. It seems that a lot of the family was over to her house and many were involved in putting in a new garden.  However, it appears that there was more family then garden, so she wanted to know if the extra resources could come over and help me clean up my yard of all the winter debris.  I welcomed the offer and before long, I was happily working in my yard with husbands, wife’s, a grandmother, and assorted grandchildren. In two hours, my yard was transformed, thanks to the extended hand of a neighbor.

But here is why I write this.  We all know of the problems our country faces today. We see all the issues on TV and start to feel that the values that built this country no longer exist.  I must admit that my faith in my country has been at least shaken.  I tend to blame it on my age since it is not what I grew up with.  It is so easy to say that people today are different, and to some degree I am right.  But just like the fire that no longer flames, within there is a heart that still burns, and given the opportunity, once again bursts into flame.

I am thankful to my neighbors, not only for standing with me, but for caring.  I am thankful that with 12 grandchildren and a family of their own, they could find the time to think beyond family and exhibit compassion for the guy down the street.  I am grateful, and, I am consumed with both a feeling thankfulness and the sense that love and concern for others is not dead.

I plan to buy them a cake.  A small token of my appreciation.  But, with all those kids, I suspect they will know my thank you is sincere.