The month of December seemed to whirl by too quickly. Between conferences, meetings, the flu and lingering cold... it feels like I've been out of the office for a month. Over the New Year's holiday I drove from Missouri to California with my best friend, and now, roommate. As we were pulling on to Eucalyptus I realized how much I missed it. You see, I've lived in four different locations during the last year. As soon as I got settled, it was time to move. Sounds more dramatic than it was, but it nevertheless, it causes me to be thankful for the new place I live. It feels like home.
Yesterday I had the chance to sit out on my front lawn and read. It was a sunny 83 degrees outside. Umm... can you say global warming? Anyway, I brought a book to read, but ended up people watching. I think I only read 13 pages during the entire 2 hours. It was peaceful to watch the people walking by. Some of them would say hello, others would ignore me, and a few didn't even notice me because their ipod was too loud. I sat out long enough to see the same parents that walked up the street to wait for their kids to get out of school, walk back down with them. There are so many people! At one point there were 15 people passing by every minute. So I decided that I'm going to sit out there everyday during the after-school rush. I want to learn my neighbors' names and actually know them.
A question was asked at a training I attended in December: Do you know the names of the neighbors directly surrounding your house? Most of us did not... and we were all there for "community development." Crazy! So that's what I'm going to do. I encourage you to do the same. Spend time outside of your house. Talk to your neighbors. Be a good neighbor. I'll keep you posted on my endeavors.
