Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Worth Repeating...


I decided to re-post something I wrote last fall after a fun afternoon with my neighbors. The reason I'm re-posting it is because we have been enjoying our neighbors so much this summer. This morning I woke up excited because I had a date with some neighborhood moms for coffee! After book club last month, we sat around and talked for a couple of hours and decided we needed to get together and do that more often. It was very fun! I'm very social (been sort of a hermit this summer though) and always feel energized when I'm around people. And my neighbors are some of my most favorite people to be around! I'm just feeling grateful for them and wanted to let you know how very much I love where we live...


Originally published October 2008:


love my neighborhood.

The houses are alright, I guess, but our neighbors are what make our neighborhood great! I love my neighbors. All of them. Well, 
almostall of them. The ones with the dogs that bark at 10pm drive me a bit crazy.

A couple of weeks ago, I came home from running some errands and saw two of my neighbors out talking by the mailboxes. I waved, pulled into my garage, went inside and went about my merry business. About 10 minutes later I walked past the window and I noticed they were still out there talking.

Have I ever told you that I hate to be left out of something that looks like fun? Well I do.

I decided right then and there that MY mail needed checking, so I walked outside and joined them. We ended up chatting for almost an hour about everything under the sun!

One of the things we talked about that day was our love of oatmeal. The old-fashioned kind cooked on the stove with lots of brown sugar and cinnamon and raisins. NOT those goofy instant packets. We even decided that we needed to get together for an oatmeal breakfast some morning, and TODAY was the day!

I took the kids to school then walked across the street (in my slippers) and had coffee, fruit, and oatmeal with Monica and Heather. It was SO much fun! And we talked for 
way longer than half an hour this time!

After awhile, we decided to move our little party to the Bead Shop downtown where we spent the rest of the morning (and afternoon) talking and making jewelry. I'll have to post a pic of the necklace I made. I think it turned out very cute!

There are so many great families and couples in our neighborhood! We've lived here for five years and we've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the people around us.

We've shared 4th of July breakfasts and fireworks in the cul-de-sac. We've had block parties, kids craft nights, bike parades, Bunco, yard sales, and play groups. We "Boo" each other around Halloween and take pictures of each other's kids trick-or-treating. Summer finds us outside chatting on the sidewalk while our kids play and ride bikes. Winter finds us outside chatting while shoveling snow and building snowmen in our yards.

My neighbors are willing to watch our kids, our dog, lend us eggs or butter in a pinch, and get our mail and paper when we're out of town. I can call them night and day for almost anything (and believe me, I have!) and they know they can call us night and day for almost anything (and believe me, they have!)

We've seen lots of babies born (including two sets of twins), we've mourned the loss of pets, we've shared meals together, and we've laughed until we've cried.

I absolutely LOVE my neighbors because they're not just my neighbors, they're my 
friends! I know that not all neighbors and neighborhoods are like this which makes me all the more thankful for mine!


7 comments:

Susan said...

I have been blessed with good neighbors too with this kind of relationship. It is rare, and I am thankful. Glad you have that support by you too!

Becky said...

LOVE this post because we LOVE our neighors as much as you love yours. You could have written this to describe our neighborhood...even the lived here 5 years part. We feel very blessed esp since this is the second neighborhood like this we have lived in....LOVED our Elaine Circle crew. We are now planning a homemade ice cream block party! YUM!

Amber said...

I remember when you posted this last year, and am SO happy that you have such a cool neighborhood. I don't think enough neighborhoods are friendly and inviting anymore, so it is so awesome to hear that some still are!

So happy for you!!

Robin said...

Glad you have such great friends, it truly is a blessing.

Carpool Queen said...

My favorite time of the week is Friday afternoon when my neighbor comes over and we have happy hour from 4:30 - 5:30 and catch up on what's going on with each other.

It's a great way to decompress, reconnect, and start the weekend on a good note.

Lauren said...

Awww, so sweet Meredith!! :)

Stephanie @ My Answered Prayer said...

Makes me miss Elaine Circle....at least the people.