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Our New Neighbors...what a blessing they are proving to be.

O

OBIO

Retired SOH Admin
Back in March, the folks who lived in the other side of our duplex for 17 years moved out....they got a great deal on a very nice house and became home owners. For 6 months, the apartment sat empty...part of the time was spent repainting, installing new carpeting, installing a central A/C system. Well, last week we got new neighbors. And I could not think of better neighbors to have. They simply FIT. Every thing about them is perfect for living next to Deb and I.

Our original neighbors, who we lived beside since we moved here back in May 2005, were very nice people, friendly, warm...but we never really "clicked". No BBQs, no sitting out on the patio and chatting. I would sit and visit with them...but Deb, who is a reserved and quiet person, never really did. Our new neighbors.....in 6 days, Deb has spent nearly 5 hours sitting on the patio chatting, has been into their home several times, they have been into ours, we have shared zucchini bread, oatmeal cookies and blueberry cheesecake back and forth. Tomorrow, we are having dinner together. This evening, while mom and step-dad were getting some much needed rest, I took the boys (10 and 15) out to the side yard and we spent a good hour shooting BB guns at cardboard boxes. Yesterday, when it was time for his 3 kids to go back to their mom, I rode along. Yes, we had 5 kids running around for a three day holiday while the adults worked at getting things unpacked and organized....and it was great. Those 5 kids (3 his and 2 hers) are amazing kids....from the youngest boy at 7 years old...on up to the oldest kid at 15...they are all polite, well mannered, well behaved.

Heck, even our dog's love them! Well, Brutus at any rate....Hazel is more like her mom...it takes her a while to warm up to folks...but she is quickly getting there.

We were fearful that when we got new neighbors that they would not be as good as the ones we lost...but we have been blessed with even better neighbors and a houseful of new friends to boot.

Now...I'm not shy....I can talk to complete strangers like I have known them for 20 years...so me getting along with the new neighbors is not that big of a surprise. But my heart rejoices over seeing Deb have such an instant connection with these folks. To see her sitting on the patio with her new gal friend, sharing recipes, talking about their soap operas, laughing....that does my heart a world of good. Since Deb's brain surgery, and the loss of her nursing career following it, she has been left with a social void in many ways. The friendships she had at work are gone, her ability to hop in a car and drive to see other friends is gone. She gets together with her mom and sisters and aunts each week....but that leaves 6 days a week where she only has me to talk to, unless she picks up the phone and calls someone...and I don't do soap operas! Deb, who will not go out to eat any more due to the facial paralysis and the fear of making a mess while she eats....sat on the patio with 2 people she just met less than a week ago and ate a slice of blue berry cheesecake...which is a messy thing to eat even when you have all of your facial muscles working....and she did so without hesitation! She has someone to watch her soap opera with every day! And they are planning a shopping trip next weekend!

It's funny how something as minor as getting new neighbors really can be a major blessing and a life enriching event.....and I am so glad that it is so.

OBIO
 
Very happy for you Tim! Looks like things are finally looking up for you and Deb. I know how happy you were when you got the new van, now new neighbors that are a joy and a new friend for Deb which she needs right now....Yup, things are good indeed...:jump:
 
I think modern society has started to lose a real sense of community and because of this we forget how important good relationships with our neighbours can be and how drastically they can impact your life.

When my partner and I were students living in Dundee we lived next door to the most obnoxious, rude individual I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. He had no consideration for his neighbours and ruined the entire building. Everyone was tense and on edge constantly waiting for the next time he would make an obnoxious noise or decide to play his music loudly at four or five in the morning and most of us couldn't wait to get out of there. Even when he was being well behaved we were always constantly on edge, the second we heard his door click shut we were just waiting for our lives to be disturbed.

Fast forward 12 months after we graduated and we move into a little house in York. Our next door neighbours pop around to introduce themselves and we get on very well, so well in fact that I now consider them some of my best friends. We've been with them through good times and bad and have helped each other through some difficult periods and I have no doubt we'll continue to do so even though they have since moved away (a very sad day). Now the house next door lies empty while the owner looks for new tenants and my partner and I miss hearing our friends next door, even the noisy times.

The noise of a front door clicking shut used to instil terror in me but now I've had some wonderful experiences with good neighbours I find I'm missing the things that used to drive me insane when I lived next door to bad neighbours.
 
Glad to hear that things are going better for you Tim, and better yet, for your wife.
 
Tim I am very happy for you and Deb, I bet the new neighbors are just as thrilled as you are, it is so nice when stuff like this happens.

I consider myself very lucky that we have always had good neighbors, we have been in this house almost 30 years and have seen many come and go, but only one was really what I would call bad, and he didn't hang around long - read he went to the big house. My wife and I bought this place just over a year after we were married thinking we would keep it until we could fix it up some and affored something bigger and better, well it was mostly the neighbors that kept us from selling, some came and went but we stayed. The thing that kept us here I think is the ethnic mix, we had a fellow from India on one side, and a couple from France across the street, a family from Portugal on the other side of us, and some Acadians a few doors down - which has been very interesting considering there is not that much diversity in this region generally.

I have always been the kind of person who enjoys helping others any way I can, and that seemed to be a big thing on our street always, we have seen some bad times, the fellow next door spent 12 years getting his wife and son into the country and then just a year later he suddenly passed away. That was a shock for everyone and the family left behind were in quite a mess, no income, limited ability in the english language and no extended family for support. My wife and I helped "Betty" (not here real name only because I can't spell it...lol) where we could, getting squared away with Social Assistance and additional upgrading, she was already taking English as a second Language but now she needed work skills as well to get off Social Assiatance and support herself and her son. It took her about 18 months to complete her upgrading, she took in boarders, and sewing from around the neighbourhood to help out, she got off social assistance and even went in to try and set up a schedule to pay them back, can you say shocked Government workers...lol. I really have to admire her spirit and determination, she refused to allow her son to work - "Ricky's job is school, learn to be Doctor" was her mantra and that was final! The hard work paid off, little Ricky graduated with the highest marks ever recorded in his high school, we helped him with scholarship applications and he joined the Canadian Forces to get his medical education and to serve his adopted country as thanks for the opportunity he was given. He completed Medical school and did a tour in Afghanistan as part of his commitment, he is off for another tour soon, he was home recently and told us his future plans are to finish his 10 year stint in the service then come back to NB and set up a practice here... Gig likes that very much :icon_lol:

I know there are a lot of folks who are not fond of immigrants, and not everyone who lands here will work as hard or try to give back as much as my neighbours have, but most of them will. I feel the majority of those who come to Canada and the US are looking for a better life and are willing to work darn hard for it, and in doing that they contribute more than they take in the long run.

I grew up in a very "WASP" neighbourhood, and while it was great, I have to say the diversity on the small street where I live now has been much more interesting and I think my kids are better off for having had the mix of friends and neighbours that had in their younger years.
 
damnit.....i think of myself as a strong person..in all ive done in my life..fire fighting..racing cars..being a plumber ( believe it or not,that job can be tramatic for a 12 yo and his first encounter with a tampon,stuck in a plugged up sewerline btw) and reading about Debs troubles and how she has now met a friend in this new nieghbor brought a tear to my eyes...turnin me into an old softy...or maybe feeling sorry for myself since i lost all my friends after i broke my back.....
 
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