Neighbors!

I would imagine that most of you reading this have neighbors.  You can see their houses right now, their cars parked out front, their lights turn out as they go to bed.  Goodness, you can see into their homes.  You need to appreciate your neighbors - I mean it, truly.

I didn't realize how much I missed having neighbors until we moved into our new neighborhood, really until tonight.  Before we moved here we lived next to a great family, we could hang out on the porch and talk together and still see our kids playing in our own yard.  The family before them, also great, we used to leave the baby monitor on in one house and go sit in the other house and have adult conversation - the houses were that close.  I lost all of that when we moved here, and man I have missed out.

Our last neighborhood here was all walls.  We lived there for five years and did not ever learn the names of the people who lived next door to us.  We have no idea what their house looks like - on the outside.  The only time the other neighbors spoke to us was to ask us to move our car, and it wasn't even really us it was the people who were house sitting for us that week.  So, I guess we never spoke to them.  We do know that there was only one other family that was caucasian that lived in the neighborhood - but we never even spoke to them in the neighborhood.  For a relational culture there was just no relating.

It turns out I like to be around people.  Sure, I have my times when I like a little alone time and privacy.  But, I really get refreshed by sitting with people and laughing together, crying together, talking together, plotting world domination together, etc...  For six years I have missed out on having neighbors.  It's not that I never am around people, not even close, but I really had no neighbors.  I had people that lived in houses near me, behind their high wall with barbed wire, but I didn't have anyone I could run to for a cup of sugar, or a cry when my kids were making me crazy.

For years we said we would never move into the neighborhood where we live now, it was filled with too many Americans and we would never have any privacy.  I feel like an idiot for that.  Tonight I had one of the most refreshing nights ever.  The girls were watching this ridiculously stupid Disney movie, my neighbors girls were watching the same thing, and all the moms were bemoaning it on facebook.  So, we decided to go sit in one of our garages.  (It was only 50 feet from my house, if even, so do not be worried that I abandoned the children.)  We called it the "Moms against Teen Beach Movies" support group.  SO REFRESHING!  We sat and talked, and laughed, and laughed until we cried, and cried a little, and grew a little closer as women.  I walked away with a smile on my face, knowing that moving into this neighborhood is one of the best decisions we have made since leaving North America.

I remember my Mom and the next door neighbor meeting at the fence to give each other missing baking ingredients.  I especially remember the day us kids got too much for Mom and she ran away - at least that is what my brothers told me.  In reality she had just gone next door to Mrs. C's house for a little break from us.  It is so freeing to me that now I can do the same thing, I walked over to the neighbors for a cup of water for my rice the other day when our jug of water ran out on me.  In our old house I would have had to scrap the rice.  So, please get out there and appreciate your neighbors, throw a block party, play kick the can - and love it!

Thank you to all the neighbors I had in North America, for so many years, and thank you to my new neighbors.  You all have had a part in shaping my life.  I appreciate you!  (And feel free to call me anytime you run out of butter - we can meet at the fence.)