Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The older we get and the longer we stay in our neighborhood, the more and more I love it.

I never thought in a million years that we would find such good friends living down the street.

Or even just friendly acquaintances that we know we can count on.

I don't know if our neighborhood is an exception but we sure have seemed to have found a good one. 

We just had someone new move in across the street from us and it dawned on me to make sure he felt very welcome and a part of our street. 

We've learned this trait from our awesome neighbors and how well we were (and continue to be) treated in our neighborhood.  We felt like it was necessary to continue this as a representation of our friendly street! 

Not to mention our trusty neighborhood watch dog.

Always on duty.

The more I thought about it, it dawned on me how easy it is make someone feel welcome in a time when their life changing and everything they own may be in boxes.

Smile, wave and say hello.

We cannot get out of our neighborhood without waving to at least a few people we pass that we know.

We may only know them in passing or from walking Floyd, but seeing a familiar, smiling face can go a long way.

It is comforting to know that if something were to be wrong with our house and we weren't home, there are others looking out for us.  And us for them.

I can't tell you the number of times a group of 3 or 4 of us have gathered in the street to return a lost dog in the neighborhood.  That in itself warms my heart that they would do that for Floyd if ever necessary (but lets really hope not!)

Bake cookies

When we moved in someone brought us some sort treat to our doorstep and that has always stuck with me.

Over the weekend I whipped up my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe for our new neighbor.  I made sure to deliver them while they were still warm (because who doesn't love warm cookies?).  I made sure to include a small welcome note with our names and also introduced ourselves to them when we delivered the goodies.    

Socialize

A few weekends ago we were invited to a house warming party down the street for another set of new neighbors.  We scooped up our friends two doors down and went over and socialized.  It was a great time to talk with and get to know our other neighbors even more.  Now we know even more people on our street and that comforting feeling goes a long way.  

 Plus any party I can walk to, drink some wine and come home to my dog is a plus in my book.

Attend events

This goes along socializing but just like making new friends, you have to get out there.

Our neighborhood/HOA is fantastic at holding quarterly, fun events.  Whether it be wine tasting, beer tasting, margarita night, ice cream social, etc. there always seems to be something to attend.  This (and lazy Saturdays at the pool) is how we've met some of our good friends in the neighborhood.  

Making friends as an adult is hard with a capital H.  Starting in your neighborhood is a great place to begin because you already have common ground (literally) to talk about.  Striking up a conversation about the 'hood, the surrounding areas and each others favorite places to eat nearby are great ways to break the ice.

I used to think it was strange when people would say they were best friends with their neighbors.  Now I see how possible (and awesome) that can be! One cheer for adult life!