This last year has been a roller coaster of life and the travels have been few which has made me realize the constants in my life. Of course, family has been a constant with phone calls, video chats and quick visits but what about those human beings that live next door.
I grew up in the small town of Bottineau, North Dakota, where it was like the theme song from the television show “Cheers,” “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.” I remember my first childhood home which was only lived in for a short time but what I remember most was our neighbors. They welcomed us with open arms as soon as we moved in and had older children who would babysit me and my sister. Our parents got a long well so we were at their house quite a bit enjoying the conversation and occasional baked good. They became family and we could count on them to be there if we needed them including celebrating milestones in each other’s lives. When it was time for us to move on to Fargo for one year it was excruciating for all of us to leave that warmth, that familiarity. We would eventually move back to Bottineau where I would finish out my school years. Our second home had that same familiar feeling which included more amazing people next door we could eventually call not only neighbors but family. The block on Simrall Blvd. became my haven with the ability to run around the neighborhood and even build some forts with the kids in the neighborhood. Everyone looked out for each other and I thought that was something everyone did everywhere. I knew right then and there that I wanted to be a good neighbor.
My parents moved after I was done with High School and I can remember the day of the move like it was yesterday. Everything was packed and we pulled away from not only our childhood home but the place where I learned to ride a bike, the place I had my first sleepover, but most importantly the neighbors who were our family. I knew that I wouldn’t be around much at our new home due to going to college so I wanted my parents to be able to have those neighbors and friendships again. I would have to say we finally experienced what it was like to have neighbors that didn’t care, that never came by to say “Hi” or introduce themselves. We didn’t know anything different than having friendly neighbors that looked out for each other and it made us realize how special we had it before making this move. It made my stomach swirl when it was time for me to go back to college knowing that my parents weren’t going to have those friendships and I hoped that eventually neighbors would show up but they never did.
When it was time to finally figure out a place to call our own, we talked to our realtor about neighborhoods and where we could see ourselves staying forever as I never wanted to go through this process again. We were told that the homes around our new home were not rentals but when we finally moved almost all the houses around us ended up being rentals except ONE. Of course, there is nothing wrong with rentals but we knew that there would be people coming and going with nothing permanent. That ONE house had a married couple with a young boy and a cute dog. It took us a while to introduce ourselves due to life getting in the way and the weather as we moved in September. I am going to be honest that it takes me a while to open up and trust others but by the time the weather got nice out our first year in our new home we started to see our neighbors a little more. My daughter is in love with dogs so of course she gravitated toward our neighbors’ dog and before you know it was playing with the neighbor boy. Our driveways and garages started to become our personal gathering places. We found out that we had a lot in common as well including officiating, United Way, games, and music. We have the same morals and values but of course still have our differences which we didn’t let come between the relationships we had built. Our daughter thinks of their little boy as a brother since she is an only child and we truly enjoy having him around. It has been a joy watching him grow up. They have become family and those type of people I can trust with anything. The neighbors have been around for so many moments in our lives such as Birthdays, 1st and last days of school, Anniversaries, Holidays, and even a Cancer diagnosis. We even joked that someday we should build a tunnel to connect our houses. They have been our savior when this last year threw us the COVID curveball in the Spring as we were able to hangout when there was no place to go and time seemed to slow down as there was no activities for our kids. I know as our kids grew older, we would probably spend less time together as the activities and life would get in the way but it was just feeling that knowing they were there made me feel reassured. It has been our honor to live beside these amazing human beings for six years. We now have to say “Good-Bye” as they will no longer be living next door. I continue having tears as I write this, it doesn’t seem real. They are staying close and will be in our lives forever as they don’t have a choice but we know it will never be the same. Who am I going to borrow canned tomatoes from when I am out?
Are you a good neighbor? Have you gone to the people next door and introduced yourself? Do you just shovel your own driveway or do you help others out if you have time? When was the last time you sat in your driveway and had your neighbors over to have a conversation? Maybe we should check in with our neighbors so no one is alone? I think Mr. Rogers had something going with his show as it would be awesome if we were all a little nicer to our neighbors. It has been a hard process for me and my family and it may take me a while to go next door but I want to be a good neighbor! A HUGE THANK YOU to our family we called NEIGHBORS!
Music makes my world whole and here are a few songs that have been on replay as for some reason they just have the words that resonate with how I am feeling. Take a listen!
I Lived – OneRepublic (Click Here)
I, I did it all
I owned every second that this world could give
I saw so many places
The things that I did
Yeah, with every broken bone
I swear I lived
Anonymous- Three Days Grace (Click Here)
In my mind worlds collide
Something inside me is gone
Still I keep going on
In my mind oceans divide
I don’t know where I belong
But still I keep holding on and on
Until Next Time……………………..
Traveling With Jo 