MEMBERS OF SOCIETY

We have become members of society. Up until this point in our lives, we have just lived our lives with ourselves and our small circle of friends. I have often thought about the days of old when everyone in your neighborhood knew you. When people looked out for each other. When a neighbor was out of town, everyone knew where they were and when they would be back. When you are baking and notice you have no eggs, it is fine to run next door to borrow one. Wow! Wouldn't that be neat. Growing up, my mom's best friend was our neighbor. It was a natural way of life for us then. Only problem is that I have never had the opportunity to live next door to my best friend. Well guess what?! Olga and my mom were not best friends before we moved in next door!
Three years ago when we bought this house, our neighbor across the street (Ms. Barbara and her husband) would always wave when they saw us. Then I had a pampered chef party and dropped and invitation in her mailbox(I did not even know her name the). SHE CAME TO THE PARTY! Oh! So that is how becoming a member of society works! You actually talk to the people around you! I was starting to get it. Ms. Barbara became the kids best friend in the neighborhood(she is in her 70s). They rake her leaves, she makes them candy, they bake her cookies, she brings veggies from her garden. It has been great!
This summer 3 families with children have moved in around us and our membership in this society has grown. A young couple with 2 little girls are right behind us. We gave them some of the girls dresses that had gotten too small and Colton(the dad) plays ball and gives all the kids rides in a wagon behind the riding lawn mower.The kids met Carly next(an 8 year old girl catty corner from us). They would play out in the yard but she could not come in because her mom did not know me, so we had to meet. Next Jonathon(8) and Cyrus(4) moved in across from Colton. Their mom, Jodie, is going through a divorce and didn't have any furniture for the living room. Down the street was an abandoned house that had been emptied out and a couch was sitting at the curb. We all got together and put that couch on the wagon behind Colton's lawn mower and pulled that couch to her house. Since then all the kids are always at my house(unless Colton is outside-he is the biggest kid of them all and he runs, chases, plays ball, sprays with water and just plays with all the little kids). Christine, Colton's wife, locked herself out of the house one day and Jodie, me and the man that lives on the other side of her helped her get in. After that she called me to see if she could borrow a coke(she did not want to have to load the babies back in the car to run to the store.) Yesterday someone driving by stopped and took an ice chest the kids had in the front yard to help them get up in the tree. Maria, Carly's mom, saw it and followed them to a house up the street. We called the cops and had them go up there to retrieve it for us. All the other neighbors ended up coming over to be sure everything was ok when they say a cop car here. Of course all the kids thought it was the greatest day because we had a police man here. I thought it was a pretty good day because I learned that we now really are members of the society(at least in our neighborhood). We talk to each other, help each other, look out for each others kids, borrow from each other, and look out for each other. It is pretty neat!