Her: Neighbours

Looking back at our first year in Maryland (to the date!), I can truly say that what I am most grateful for here, other than my wonderful husband, are our neighbours. I don't know if this is due to cultural differences between Canada and the US, or if this is just an isolated happy coincidence due to the specific group of people that live around us, but this is the first time in my life that I've personally gotten to know and befriended not only one, but several families in our neighbourhood.

We regularly share meals, play games, celebrate, go shopping, and even workout with our neighbours. We've helped each other with yard work, and have had block parties (next one in August!) We haven't had to worry about our house or garden when we are away, because we know there are several pairs of eyes, ears, and hands looking out for us. We, of course, are more than willing to return the favour if need be.  Our neighbours are more than just that - they have become friends and even family who happen to live next door.

After experiencing what it truly means to have, and be, neighbours, it will be hard to go back to Canada in a few years where this kind of behaviour is extremely rare (at least in my experience). Why shouldn't you personally know your neighbours? I believe that this is the way it should be. It is so unfortunate that the culture lends itself to keeping to yourself and not developing relationships with the people who live next to you. This "keep to yourself" idea is so absurd when you consider what life was like 100-150 years ago, where members of a community truly depended on one another for not only friendship, but for survival. Our growing technological connectivity has actually seemed to reduce true connections between people that live in close proximity to each other.

Lamenting aside, I am just so grateful for the wonderful neighbours we have been blessed with here, and I can only hope that we will spread such neighbourly love to those living around us in our subsequent moves.