Like a Good Neighbor…

Y’all, can I be real with you for a minute? I honestly believe that somewhere a long the line, we have forgotten what it means to be a good neighbor. Oh, we understand what it means to HAVE a good neighbor but I think we’ve forgotten that WE need to be good neighbors to our neighbors too.

DH and I are really pretty good neighbors. When we hear one of our neighbors is ill or has suffered a loss we are there with a meal, a plate of cookies, a loaf of homemade bread, a card… something. When my husband is out with the snowblower he heads over the neighbors to do their driveways too. He has even gone over to neighbors we don’t know who are out shoveling and helps them finish. Especially when it’s super cold. We go over and check on the neighbors when we haven’t seen them in a while to make sure they are okay and so on… We are even neighbors to our neighbors who don’t live near us doing the same thing. We check in via phone, text, Facebook whatever. We are the kind of people who drop everything when we hear we are needed, for anyone.

I’m not saying this to brag, it’s no big deal, it’s just who we are and what we like to do. I say this though to say, that there is a difference between being a good neighbor and being neighborly. A quick wave in the driveway is neighborly but it doesn’t necessarily make you a good neighbor… especially when we are out in the driveway shoveling in single digit temperatures and negative windchills… just leave us alone and let us get it done! Better yet, come help us if you are trying to be a good neighbor but making us stop to wave back is honestly, just rude.

DH has been traveling for a couple of weeks and we’ve had snow… a lot the last couple of days. After the first snow, DH asked if anyone helped clear the driveway. My response was laughter and “Of course NOT.” We’ve been here 10. years and no one has ever helped me when he’s been away. Well, my kids when they were around. I will say someone did come by and snow blow the sidewalks for me which was VERY nice but they left the tire tracks on my driveway… yep, they stopped the blowing as the pushed the snow blower over the driveway and started the blower after they got to the sidewalk… Like I said… that more a neighborly thing. Anyway, I was able to shovel the snow no problem, I’m not complaining really as much just noticing that we LOVE having a good neighbor but don’t always try to BE one in return.

Just something to think about… thoughts to just go out into the universe…