A Good Neighbor

My daughter and her family live in an area of Springfield known for its neighborliness. “It’s what we want for our life,” she said. “We think it’s important to our family.”
 

Her comments reminded me of an anonymous handwritten note we received from one of our neighbors a short time after we moved into our current home about eight years ago. Addressed to “Occupant,” it read as follows:

Please do not leave your trash receptacles on the driveway or anywhere in front of your home. This is a nice neighborhood. Please don’t bring it down by leaving trash in front.

We certainly didn’t mean to offend or upset any of our neighbors, but given that we had moved into my father’s home after he passed less than a year earlier and brought with us a houseful of furniture, it was taking us a bit to get it all sorted out. If you’ve ever sifted through an elderly parent’s possessions and divvied them up with extended family, you know what I mean.

This meant we didn’t have room in our garage for the typical large trash container for a few weeks. We didn’t have piles of trash on our lawn. Our grass was mowed weekly. There were flowers in the flower beds and we put the trash at the curb once a week for pick-up. We just didn’t have the container in the garage.  After the note, we did our best to make space for it as soon as possible.

I’m writing about this now because I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to the importance of community and the connections we need to stay healthy and happy. Most of us are in favor of the idea of community, at least in theory. The problem occurs with the reality of actual people. They don’t always do things to our liking. They can be irritating and annoying. Intentionally, or not, they may interfere with our idea of the way things should be.

That’s one reason I was so pleased to see the launch of a third Lighthouse Child and Family Development Center at Washington Avenue Baptist Church as an Every Child Promise Neighborhood Hub last Wednesday. This partnership brings together a number of “neighbors,” including Springfield Public Schools, Drury University, and Victory Trade School. Washington Avenue recognized the need of their neighbors. They didn’t seem to mind the changes that needed to be made to their church, the wear and tear on their building from a lot more little people tramping around every day, or the need for everyone to coordinate their usage around others in the building. Rather, they embraced the idea that community can be messy. Community can be cumbersome. Community is often clumsy . . . but community is important.

 

Of course, it’s a two-way street. Neighborliness goes both ways. Everyone has to work at it. It just seems to me that Washington Avenue Baptist is the kind of neighbor that comes over shortly after you move in to with a plate full of cookies and something cold to drink. They let you know they’re glad you’re here and they follow up on their offer to be helpful. You reciprocate by shoveling their driveway or picking up their newspaper. They offer to bring in your mail when you’re gone. You water their flowers when they are out of town for the weekend. Over time, through warmth, courtesy and respect a mutually beneficial friendship develops that is a gift to everyone around. That’s what seems to be happening at and through Washington Avenue. They are an inspiration to all of us to take the first step toward being a good neighbor. It makes a difference to all of us.

Thinking neighborly thoughts,

Dr. Jennifer Baker