DAY 1 - Visit with Neighbors

One out of two Americans don't know their neighbors names. That doesn't mean they dislike their neighbors. In fact quite to the contrary, most Americans are fairly positive about their immediate neighbors, they just don't know their names! Beyond saying good morning and good evening, I believe that neighbors, especially immediate neighbors should at least know each other's names (at least for emergency purposes). However, there are those who have crazy neighbors, so this doesn't apply to them. You can read more about that in the Forbes article here.

I am fortunate to live in an older neighborhood where the people are from a different generation. I know most of my neighbors by name. I also live in a fairly small neighborhood of about 45 homes. In my last neighborhood I only knew a few of my immediate neighbors. I guess that was not so unusual.

So I try to make it a point to connect with my neighbors. Today I attended church and visited with one of my neighbors. They live across the street. They are a wonderful older couple, who I enjoy spending time with. They also enjoy when I bring my little one along. We dined on cake, Chex Mix and coffee. We talked about the neighborhood, child rearing, a little politics, and the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination. What a great time. The baby behaved too. She was unusually quite. I also admired their Christmas decorations, which were plentiful.