Community

Last night Jonathan and I went to our neighbor’s house (who also happens to be our landlord) for a neighborhood BBQ.  Four houses of people attended, making the guest count about ten people in all.  And what a great time it was. My introverted nature sometimes keeps me from taking part in these types of events, but when I give in and attend, I am always surprised by how much fun I can have. We spent the night having good food, good conversation, and much laughter with the people who were strangers to us just hours before.  I also gained much insight into the act huckleberry picking and how the term, “pecking order” came to be.

I am encouraged by all the wonderful people I live next to.  Knowing your neighbors seems to be a thing of the past.  But I hope that can change.  I hope we can go back to befriending our neighbors and knowing the people we live next to.  (After all, I did end up marring my neighbor) I read somewhere that “community died when we stopped building front porches.”  Maybe a little extreme, but I believe there is some truth to this statement.  Instead of spending a sunny day on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea and a hello to the people passing by, we have built fences and garages attached to our houses, making it much harder to even come into contact with our neighbors.  I don’t think this is true for everyone, but I think it is true for me.  Ever since Jonathan and I have moved into this house, we have spent a lot of time sitting on our front porch.  The neighborhood BBQ was born in part, by sitting on the front porch and talking to our neighbors.

So here’s to front porches and wonderful neighbors!