In all likelihood I have mentioned that we live in absolutely fabulous neighborhood, but I would like to mention it again, because I continue to be thankful that God brought us to here. I actually became familiar with this neighborhood when I was single. I lived in another neighborhood just a couple miles away, and my roomies and I would walk through here on our loop. I remember liking a lot of the houses, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think of living here...I mean living in Atlanta was never in my future plans.
When Dave and I began to make plans to leave Germany we tried to move somewhere other than Atlanta, and actually thought we would be moving to Michigan until 3 weeks before we left Germany. And then once we arrived back and we started looking at houses we did not look much in this particular area to begin with, because we thought we were too cool to live here...we wanted be a bit more urban and diverse. I had actually passed by this house a number of times and did not want to look at it because, let's be honest, it isn't the prettiest house on the block. There were two things that finally sold us. I called two of the families that lived in the neighborhood and asked them about it. Upon hearing their descriptions I was almost completely sold. And then we walked into the house, and almost on the spot made an offer.
So, here are a few things that I love about my neighborhood. It is diverse...go figure. Our across the street neighbors are from Uzbekistan, a couple houses down are folks from Ethiopia, and a couple houses up are from India. And it is not just ethnically diverse, it is also diverse in ages. We have folks who have are in their 80s with grandkids and great-grandkids, folks whose kids are in high school, folks who have elementary age kids, and our newest neighbors are 23 year old newlyweds!
Once a month the ladies get together for dinner and Bunco (really it is just an excuse to hang out). I have loved having a regular time when I know I will get to see these ladies and have a chance to hear more about what is going on in their lives. And some neat friendships have sprung up and continue to develop. I love hearing what the older ladies have to say about being a Mama. I love hearing about what life was like in the 60's and 70's. I love hearing different perspectives on schooling, God, children and life in general.
I love walking around our neighborhood. It is hard to walk around our neighborhood without stopping to visit with folks. There are always folks outside in their yards playing with their kids, or dogs, or doing yard work. It usually takes us a long time to get around the block because we are always stopping to visit with someone. I love that! I love that my girls know which neighbors have nice dogs and that my neighbors are so sweet to my children. And I love that there are children my kids ages. And we keep praying for more families to move in here...so come on!
So, here are two fun things that happened this week that made me love our neighborhood even more. The snow was fabulous! I loved it so much, and on Monday morning we all gathered on the hill and cheered for each other as we took turns sledding down the hill. There were moms and dads and all the kids. And then some of our older neighbors gathered on their porches to watch the fun and remember when their children were small and sledding down the same hill. They made us hot chocolate and gave us a close place to warm up our feet before we ran back outside for more sledding. Such fun!
On Friday of last week we decided to talk a walk, carefully, around our neighborhood. Dave brought his pitchfork-like shovel along so that he could help dig people out of their driveways if we came upon anyone who needed help. The snow had turned to ice at that point, and you might be able to imagine how difficult it is to get 4 inches of ice off your driveway. We stopped and helped an older couple, Bill and Vivian, that we did not know very well (Dave had actually met Bill at our Christmas Party, but we had never met Vivian) dig out their cars. They had tried to get out of their garage unsuccessfully, but Dave managed to give them a path to get out. We stopped and helped another couple, Steve and Vicki, who were working hard, Steve has back problems, so they were thankful for the extra help (and the ability to get their car out and go to the store). And finally Dave helped one last family and we headed home. Neither one of us thought much the afternoon, just being neighborly and helping folks who needed it. And it was fun to be outside and walk around and see folks.
Sunday afternoon Dave was out working on the van (that's a story for a different day), hood up, two tires off, and Steve drove by. He saw us, stopped the car, got out and came to make sure we were all ok. What had happened to the van, he wondered, and did we need any help fixing it/did we need him to drive us to get a new tire, etc. It was such a kind gesture, and I feel thankful that we have formed a relationship with him, and that he would come to check on us. A couple hours later as we were fixing dinner, the doorbell rang, and we found Vivian at the door. She had baked us a cake, Boston Cream, to thank us for helping her. Dave helped her to her car and retrieved the cake. Of course the girls were elated.
I love our neighborhood, and am so thankful to be a part of it. I love that we look out for one another and check on one another, and can serve one another in tangible ways. And I'll gladly trade Dave's sweat for a cake any day.
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