Love Thy Neighbor

That can be a tough one.  If you've ever been kept awake all night by the dog barking next door that the neighbors left to tend itself while they went off for a few days vacation, you probably weren't thinking loving thoughts with your sleep-deprived brain.  But dogs with over-active vocal cords are not what this is about.

I got up early this morning because I was so eager to hit the list of Things I get to do today that I couldn't sleep another minute.  Today we assembled all the goodies created yesterday during our kitchen dance.  Pretty little plates arranged with cookies, nuts and rum balls found a wrapping of white tissue and red yarn.

I'm a Handy Andy--a Jill of many trades--and one of those is to be the spark for the warmth that connects the folks living on our street and beyond.  We're a cheery group, but often too busy to visit or to say "I'm glad you're my neighbor.  Thanks for being who you are."

So today as I was going to each house, ringing the bell or knocking on the door, it was the perfect time to say "Merry Christmas.  I'm so pleased you live here" as I handed them a sweet little something  and extend an open-hearted smile.  The tag on each package reads:  "While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many." --Lady Bird Johnson