We know our immediate neighbours, but not really all that well. In fact, I don't even know their last names. Or maybe it's written down on a post-it note somewhere. Our neighbours keep to themselves, although they're polite and wave... if we engage first. And they all look forward to seeing our kids on Halloween so they can give them a special treat (because they're the only kids who come.)
On the one side is a retired couple who have lived in their house since it was built, in 1979. Glen's a nice guy, a good neighbour. But he likes his personal space so it took years for him to warm up to us... our choatic/noisy/normal kids, our super messy/weedy yard... he said hello if we said it first, but otherwise he kept to himself, puttering in his perfectly manicured oasis on the other side of the fence.
The fence was just the right height for the kids to climb up onto the bench and lean over to chat with Glen. And eventually, he seemed to actually enjoy the relentless chatter. Over time he started to engage in conversation with them, and us, more and more.
But the fence was just enough of a buffer, as if to say "You stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine." Personal space.
So anyway, a few weeks ago we had a really severe wind storm, which brought down massive trees all over our neighbourhood and left us without power or phones for days. It was incredible!
The next morning, we were looking out the window and surveying the damage in our yard. Things were knocked over and blown all over the place, and large branches/twigs littered the yard. It took us a few minutes to figure out what looked different... and then it hit us: our fence had fallen over into the neighbour's yard. "Oh oh!" I thought... "Glen's not going to like that. He's going to want us to fix it right away."
But an amazing thing happened. He agreed that we don't really need to rebuild it, "for now."
That very same day, I noticed another incredible sight... my kids were in his yard, hanging out with the neighbour. Again, I thought "oh, oh! He's not going to like that." But he really didn't seem to mind, which still amazes me.
Today the kids were in his yard, helping him with his fire, chatting and stacking rocks. It took 9 years to knock that fence down. I hope it stays down for good.
That's sweet. I hope it stays down too.
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