Are you a good neighbor? Apparently I could be a much better neighbor. We live on a sort of semi-circle street that has about 25 houses on it. We have lived here for about 12 years. It is a pretty quiet street without much traffic except for the people that live on the street. Last weekend two of the woman from our neighborhood arranged a tea at this cute little restaurant and tea room in our little town for all the ladies that live on our street.
Out of the 14 or 15 neighbors that attended the tea there were three woman that I had never seen before. All three of them have lived on our street at least as long as I have. One of those three lives in a house that I can see the side of from my front door.....and I had never seen her before. Yes, I felt like a really bad neighbor.
I do know my immediate neighbors, a couple of houses each way next door and across the street, but I have obviously not done a good job of being neighborly beyond that. Most of the women knew me as the crazy lady they see walking the cute dog in all kinds of weather. I really enjoyed meeting and visiting with the neighbors that I did not know and would like to get to know them better. We talked about doing a block party this summer and I hope that will happen. I will definitely volunteer to help with that. I am determined to be a better neighbor (without becoming known as the crazy lady who walks the cute dog who waves them down for a chat when they drive by).
What do you do to be a good neighbor?
Hi Jeanie, Many of our neighbors in our Breck neighborhood are second home owners - I only know a few of them. We're on a nodding/waving basis with the neighbors who are here permanently, but none are great friends with whom we socialize. In the city it's even worse - we know the names of the neighbors on each side of us - that's it!
ReplyDeleteI am friendly, I will wave and say hello and if needed I would certainly help a neighbor, but experience has tought me that in general it is not a good idea to get too friendly...if it doesn't work out it can get very uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteHi, Jeanie! I keep glancing over at the picture of Dodger in your right column. He's such a handsome dog and I can understand how he gets you noticed by your neighbors. I doubt they regard you as a crazy lady for walking him in all kinds of weather. In my opinion it makes you a loving and devoted pet owner.
ReplyDeleteI had a chance to be a good neighbor a few days ago. A family with two dogs lives adjacent to me and they have a wooden slat fence around their property to contain their animals. The problem is that the fence has seen better days and has developed some weak and rotting spots. The other day I was eating lunch when the corner of my eye detected movement in my back yard. I turned and looked and saw the neighbor's two dogs running free. They had poked a hole in the fence and burst through to freedom. I knew the neighbors weren't home in the daytime and I was worried their dogs would run away and get lost, injured or killed. For half an hour I puzzled over the problem of how to wrangle them back onto their property. Miracles happen and for some reason one of the dogs ran back through the hole and the other soon followed. I quickly ran outside and carried a large Rubbermaid tub over and blocked the hole with it. That evening I saw the neighbor woman, showed her the large hole and explained what had happened. She thanked me and I could tell by the look of gratitude on her face that should thought I was a good and resourceful neighbor.
How sweet with the tea, Jeanie. That was nice of your neighbor to arrange that. I'm a terrible neighbor, honestly. We live on a cul-de-sac with four houses on one side, 4 houses on the other. Hubby probably talks to more neighbors than I do because several of them knew his parents so he has that connection. I tend to pretty much keep to myself. Son did get to know the neighbor next door to us and would cook for him (smoke meat) when it was football season for parties the guy had, but I'm probably known as the lady who is hardly ever seen except always seems to be going some place with the dog.
ReplyDeleteI think the block party is a wonderful idea! I hope you guys do it come summer!
betty
You're a wonderful neighbor, Jeanie. I'm afraid I only know the neighbors immediately on my street. We have close contact with only a handful. I do wish I knew more of them. A block party sounds like a fabulous idea.
ReplyDeleteMy introverted tendencies will keep me from ever being on anyone's top 10 neighbor list. I'm just the guy that starts landscape projects that take three years to complete.
ReplyDeleteThat tea sounded like a lot of fun. I know a few of my neighbors. The man across the street came to my home for dinner with each of his 2 wives over a period of years. The neighbor on the left side of my house also came to dinner. And I hired the neighbors on the right side to give me pedicures at their shop.
ReplyDeleteI am a terrible neighbor. (As noted by the awful post from yesterday that I deleted from embarrassment.) I think everyone is supposed to come to me. What is that about. Today I am going to try to change all that and start going to them. That is when I get over this cold. I wouldn't want to give them my plague as a gift. Ron was the meeter and greeter. He went all around and met people. Why can't I do the same? I will take them eggs:)
ReplyDeleteI know my immediate neighbors and the house across the street, but not on a very personal level. I could be a much better neighbor - we are on the receiving end of some very helpful people since my husband is handicapped and does need help sometimes when I am not there. I should find a way to show our appreciation other than cookies at Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI like that restaurant but have not been there for awhile. What a fun idea!
I have an elderly neighbour, and he came knocking last week to phone him an ambulance as he was experiencing breathing difficulties. Sad. Never saw him for a few days after that!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Love love, Andrew. Bye.
I used to be a much better neighbor than I am nowadays. Used to be, I went out my way to do all kinds of favors for them. But our neighborhood has changed tremendously in the past 40+ years. (Unlike ME, of course.) Most of the families we were close to have divorced, died, or moved away, and a lot of the homes are rental properties now. Half of the people living here don't speak understandable English, and even those that do don't stay here more than a year or two. Besides, I'm getting too old to cut our neighbors' grass. (I do still occasionally share baked goods, though.) Other than that, I smile and wave. That transcends the language barriers.
ReplyDeleteWe are not good neighbors. I wave to two of them but we hardly ever talk. The people next door hate our three yappy dogs and snub us all the time. I'm a failure as a neighbor and feel bad about it.
ReplyDeleteEvery time it snows my husband takes his plow and plows the driveways of all the seniors on the street. I know it's a nice thing to do, but I think it's because it gives him a chance to play with his toy.
ReplyDeleteWell... I'm pretty bad. I only knew a few of my neighbors until we were robbed last year-- Then I hit the streets and knocked on doors. I met several more and know them well enough to wave. But I don't really "know" them and that's probably a shame. They are really nice people. I gotta work on that.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the tea party idea. What a nice way to get together.
xo jj
I love the Huckleberry! We will have to meet there sometime. We are neighbors on the internet. Isn't that funny that I know you better than most of my neighbors, but we have never really met?
ReplyDeleteSince we moved to our patio community I have gotten to know most of the nearby neighbors. I love the fact that we can be here for each other. I don't mind living so close to each other. I know the daily routines of my neighbors. I know their kids and grandkids and dogs. Yet, we are not always in each other's business. Where we lived before, we barely knew the neighbors on either side of us and we had lived there for years. I didn't know the other neighbors at all. That is usually the way it is.
We are the same here. I hardly know any of our neighbours. I would love to be on better terms with them, but most of them go out to work, so are not around during the day.
ReplyDeleteOne lady right next door is home all day, but she keeps to herself pretty much. And she's a bit weird! But she's great at keeping an eagle eye on the neighbourhood, if anything so much as moves, she knows about it!