Summer is such a great time, a time for teachers to recuperate, and a time to be with friends that are rarely seen during the school year. Met a couple of friends week before last, and we talked for over four hours.  We had been trying to get together since February and had a lot of talking to do.  This week, I met a friend I hadn’t seen in ages for coffee/tea, and she said they might have to post bankruptcy.  We hadn’t talked in months  even though she is dear to me.  It was great to catch up and talk for a couple of hours.

We had our neighbors over for pizza Thursday evening, and then a couple of friends came over last night.  (We ate really healthy!  She brought delicious chicken & veggie soup, and I made a mixed greens salad with baby portabella  mushrooms and then a fresh fruit salad for dessert.)  So, summer is a blessing because it offers more time to get together with friends and let them know how much they mean to you!  It’s a shame when life gets so busy that it’s hard to get together with those you love!

When I was a child growing up, we knew all our neighbors.  I wonder, however, if neighbors nowadays know each other as well as they did back when I was growing up.  I don’t think so. Back then, we knew nearly all our neighbors up and down the street and many on the streets on either side of ours as well. Now, we basically know our neighbors on both sides of our house (both are great neighbors, by the way), across the street, and a few others on our street and a few people on other streets in our neighborhood.

One thing that’s sad to me is hearing about some people who don’t even know their neighbors at all. It’s great to have neighbors to be friends with, to watch out for each other’s houses when gone, and to be there to help out when needed.  One definition of “neighborhood” is friendliness appropriate to a neighbor (a feeling of  neighborhood).   Even though neighborhoods may change in dynamics, I hope the “feeling of neighborhood” never changes.  So, one goal we have is to get to know even more of our neighbors.