Neighbors

I love where I live. Extra-small towns are great for getting to know people, and our neighborhood seems to define the definition of community. This afternoon, the neighbor across the street came over with her daughter and we sat out on the back patio talking while the kids played. Nothing fancy, just general chit chat. Friendliness.

Tonight Jeff and I sat out on the porch for our nightly drink. We sat and watched the world go by, talked about nothing, talked about neighbors, and how much we liked living here. After a while, the other neighbors across the street (next door to the girl above) came over with their own drinks/water, grabbed a couple of chairs, and we just sat out and talked for a couple of hours. Nothing fancy, just getting to know you type stuff. What fun.

I've never lived anywhere before that had a community, and now I know what people mean when they talk about being part of one. Everyone watches out for each other, everyone is ready for conversation, everyone is friendly. Where I lived before, neighbors either stared or glared at each other (or both) but rarely talked and never made small talk. People just kept themselves shut up in their house all day long and if they were outside, they would pretend they didn't see anyone else. I'm so glad I'm not a part of that anymore!