I’m not a crappy neighbor anymore!

To say that Sunday’s neighborhood BBQ was a success is an understatement! It turned out SO GREAT!

I was reminded of the movie Field of Dreams….”If you build it (it being a baseball field), they will come!”

Except for me it was, “If you host it, they will come!” And yes they did! Of course not everyone on the block came, but we ended up having a great turnout. “Representatives” from 11 houses on our block showed up! They were ranging in age from 2 years old to about 75!

One couple that showed up (Joe and Marie) have lived on this block since all the houses were brand new back in 1952! Original owners, can you imagine that?!

We also had a nice young couple from down the street (Ben and Jamie) show up with their two little girls (Avery 4 and Ellory 2). And they brought a wagon carrying a small keg of home brewed beer which was delicious! And strong! Two people had to head home for a nap after enjoying a glass :)

For years now we’ve admired the landscaping of a couple that lives about 3 doors down. They often sit on their porch in the evening and usually have lively parties for major sports events. We’ve often referred to them as the “cool sports people” but have been too chicken (or maybe lazy) to ever introduce ourselves. They came to the BBQ though and we learned that they are Steve and Tara! They were super friendly and down-to-earth and encouraged us to come on down anytime we heard a party going on!

Let’s talk about a small world for a minute…a girl that I went to first grade with lives on my block and she has for over 6 years! It’s crazy that I remember her, but her name is Georgiana and we had the same teacher for first grade. One of our assignments was to make a booklet highlighting each of our classmates and their favorite hobby and I’ll always remember that Gigi liked to ice skate. I can even picture the crayon drawing I made of Gigi ice skating. Now, 24 years later, I delivered an invitation to her mailbox just as she was checking the mail and I knew instantly who she was. Probably seemed a little creepy to her that I remembered her from way back when and even knew her last name, but hey I was home-schooled after second grade, so I only had 3 classes of people to remember! Anyway, Gigi and her fiance Joe came to the party and even suggested that we rotate throughout the summer and get together more often!

We kept things pretty simple by just having hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, pop and beer, but the neighbors really pitched in and added a fresh fruit platter, cherry and apple pie with ice cream, strawberries and fruit dip, a pastry cream filled cake and extra beer. We had quite a spread!

The weather was gorgeous and everyone had a good time. Even though we don’t have any toys, the neighborhood kids had fun running around the backyard and just doing silly kid things while the grown-ups mixed and mingled.

All in all it was a huge success. I wish I could take credit for it, but honestly I can’t. I’ve lived here for 5 years and never done a thing about getting to know my neighbors. The idea came to me while I was fasting and praying during Lent and I just took care of the administrative side of things to pull it off. God is the one who provided the idea, the gorgeous weather and the motivation for people to walk on down the street to hang out with little old us.

Just yesterday after work I took Grace on a short walk and greeted (by name!) 4 of the neighbors on our block! I can’t tell you how awesome that was…it really feels like this street is ours now. Praise God!