My friend, a Realtor, sends out a newsletter every month or so through her real estate business. I used to be paid to prepare these mailings for her so know all about them. This month's letter arrived and was lying on my bed when Justin came in. Seeing the letter, he laughed a bit when he read the title question. "You???", he asked. I told him I chuckled a bit when looking at it because I am sure my neighbors get quite annoyed with me...Not really, but I truly didn't need a reminder letter about it. How unfortunate, though, that some folks do need to be encouraged in such a fashion.
The suggestions were made to get to know your neighbors better for safety reasons in addition to just being the right thing to do. To make your neighborhood a smiling place to be. There are gift suggestions such as cocoa mix in a mug, a poinsettia, or baked goods taken to the door to introduce yourself. This brought to mind how a few years back each of the residents in my building received ceramic mugs with candy in them one morning before Christmas. No one knew who did it, and people were guessing it was me. They said this sounded like something I would do, and I was a bit ashamed of myself for not doing it! I don't think the gift giver ever came clean but it sure was a nice gesture. But, it didn't really help us to get to know each other better, by remaining anonymous. What it did, though, was put a smile on the receiver's faces and the gift giver's, as well.
So, there is something to being a friendly neighbor. I have certainly experienced such here in this building. I love my neighbors and go out of my way to let them know how much I appreciate them. They are at my door with chicken soup when I am recuperating from oral surgery (Ellen), or come running with mops and buckets when that particular need arises, and yes, even pay to have my drywall repaired/painted when needed from a leak. It is just surprising to me that people need reminding to be good neighbors, but I guess it does. I know of some people who have no idea who their neighbors are, only enough to wave at, if that. One person tells me about a neighbor who actually turns their back when waved at as she passes by. For no apparent reason, just turns his back. I would take that challenge on, but not my friend---she just keeps waving!
Other ideas in this letter suggest being considerate of others and keep your place tidy. These are things you learned growing up, and should carry over into your work place and everyday living. I do try my best to not be noisy for my neighbor's sake and am friendly when they come and go in my presence. Just the other day I gave a pitch to a couple looking at one of the units for sale (heard they ended up buying), telling them how nice it was to live here, and so on. Oh, goody, I'm getting new neighbors!!
