Okay, so the photo has NOTHING to do with the post, but how does somebody take a photo of so many great people in my neighborhood? Impossible, I think, and Tuukka always looks good in a photo, so enjoy a photo of Tuukka with a post about why I love my neighbors.
And now that I'm starting the actual meat (or Impossible vegan version of meat) of the post, I realize that I have too many reasons to list them all. The thing is, last week, when I wrote about why I love my new neighbors, I realized that I haven't posted about the fact that I love my old neighbors, too, and I've loved them a lot longer. So I'll give some of my reasons. I can't write them all or I'd never get to go back to Netflix.
When things go wrong in my family, which has happened more in the past few years than I would ever have wanted or guessed, the people who live near me step up. When I had my tumor time, people came to walk with me and to hang out. They sent cards and emails and flowers and books. They organized food for my family (I couldn't really eat yet) and picked the girls up from school and after-school events. People here made having a sucky tumor as easy as it could have been. Likewise, when my family went through some horrible and traumatic stuff this winter, the people around here stepped in to offer support.
But all hell doesn't have to break loose for our neighbors to offer kindnesses. When I announced my first pregnancy (Yes, I'm going back 21 years for this.), one woman in my department came to my house with three shopping bags filled with maternity clothes. The deal was, I could wear what I wanted and pass the bags on to the next person. When I wanted to carry on a long-standing tradition here of very infrequent surprise faculty musicals, my colleagues jumped in with skills and good humor and hours of their energy and effort. We get to support each other's children and spouses and parents.
I know this isn't the most organized or complete post I've done, but I think that's because I have too much to say about how great many of the people who live near me are. I feel so lucky to be here. Do you have great neighbors? Feel free to share a great-neighbor story in your comments below.