New Neighbors

After eleven months of having no one living in the apartment above mine, I have new neighbors. A young mother and her six year old daughter moved in a week ago. It has been an interesting week of getting used to sounds again - sounds of footsteps, both heavy and sometimes running; water running in the shower, bath tub, and toilets.

My previous neighbors were not very friendly. In fact, the wife was downright mean at times. I still remember the day I moved in. It was the end of July, the temperature was probably in the high 80's - low 90's. Many of my family members helped with the laborious task. Trip after trip we made from the moving van into my home, and all the while the woman upstairs sat in her window watching us (it felt like she was spying on us). Did she come down to introduce herself to me? No. Did she make a pitcher of lemonade? No. There was no "welcome," whatsoever.

Remembering that, last Friday night I dropped into one of my favorite grocery stores thinking they would probably have beautiful Easter cakes. Sure enough. They had many pretty things from which to chose. I picked out a pink bunny cake, which came inside a nice, clear plastic dome. I found a simple Easter card which read, "Happy Spring. Happy Easter." When I got home, I wrote a simple "Welcome! I hope you will be happy here. Here is my name and phone number should you ever need anything." Since they weren't home, I left it in front of their door.

Saturday afternoon I was working in my home when my phone rang. A little voice on the other end said, "We're the neighbors. Would you like to come up for a visit?" Yes! I would love to. I walked upstairs and was greeted by six year old Toni. She invited me in, and I stayed about an hour and a half. I had a delightful time.

Angie, her mom, is going through a divorce, but was very kind and shared many things with me. Toni is a bright, perky girl, with gorgeous, naturally curly ringlets that bounce when she walks (runs). We sat on their porch, drinking sodas and eating some of the bunny cake. They gave me a tour of the already settled home. Toni's room is right above my cottage. It's fixed up very cute.

Our schedules are such that I haven't seen them since Saturday, but I am happy to have made friends with my new neighbors. Once again, the Golden Rule plays out. I am trying to treat them as I would like to be treated, and hopefully, it will get passed on.