Last night at book club one of the girls spoke about neighborhood cohesion. The neighborhood she grew up in sounds like mine - everyone knows everyone and their families. She said that they have homes that have belonged to the same families for generations, because they so love the closeness that is there. Her point, though, was that the cohesion takes a LOT of work - a lot of gatherings with a lot of planning and involvement and going out of the way to be friends.
So tonight I started just that. I've crafted a neighborhood map - I spent a fair amount of time doing it! It's like the ware directory I had as a little girl - I never wondered where people lived, partly because they had always lived there, but also because the map was always right at the desk. I'm not sure how to get by without one, so I've stepped up to the plate.
I'm working hard to make this home. I want to live here for a long time, and I want to know my neighbors. I want to walk or drive through the streets and know who everyone is and what's going on in their lives. I want it bad enough to work for it.
This is so you, Rach. Good heavens! Could you be a better person? I, myself, don't know any of my neighbors and will probably never be on top of things enough to do anything about it. I guess I'll just have to move into your neighborhood. =)
ReplyDelete