Neighbors should be neighborly. Like ours.Our neighbors have six kids. All sweet. All lovable. Well, except for Ryan. He's 12. So he's sweet and COOL.
These neighbors rank right up there next to my family. Dad (Randy) calls. "Hey, neighbor, this is your neighbor...YOU know...the guy with all the kids!" He asks to use the mower. He mows his grass. He returns the mower. He comes over the next day with oil, telling Dennis, "It was a LITTLE low." (It was fine.)
Mom (Julie) calls Emily "Em". Now...there's not a Much Better Thing you can do to warm my heart, than to call my kids by a little, casual nickname. It's sweet. SHE'S sweet. Julie just oozes sweetness. (But she's tough. She's a ranger at the Toledo Metroparks.)
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Ten-year old Randi (we call her Little Randi and Dad, MISTER Randy) came over last spring, and asked if she could do some work to earn money for the missionaries. I gave her instructions on what sticks to pick up, where to put them, etc., and told her I would pay her $3.00. She agreed.
I departed for the remainder of the day. The next afternoon, she came back, and as Dennis watched, I "inspected" her efforts, and went off to find $3.00. I returned, placed the folded bills in her bag, and away she went.
After she left, Dennis stammered, aghast, "I hope she did
a LOT OF WORK for $15.00!"
"I only paid her $3.00," I replied.
"Well, she said you were gonna pay her $15.00!" exclaimed my husband, who KNOWS I am a cheap-skate when it comes to paying the hired help.
(Remember the 10-cent drawer-cleaning task???)
I grabbed the phone, called Julie, and explained quickly, fearful of wounding Randi's feelings, and causing her eternal disappointment with neighborly relations. I know I told her $3.00! How could this mix-up have happened??? Julie died laughing. Randi was pulling Dennis' leg! A TEN year old!
I grabbed the phone, called Julie, and explained quickly, fearful of wounding Randi's feelings, and causing her eternal disappointment with neighborly relations. I know I told her $3.00! How could this mix-up have happened??? Julie died laughing. Randi was pulling Dennis' leg! A TEN year old!
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Eight-year-old Michael ambles over, jams his thumbs in his front pockets, and while hunching his shoulders, and sticking out his chin, asks, "Got any work I can do around here for cash?"
Price: One dollar. Neighbors: Priceless
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We are being neighborly as well. Mister Randy does photography, and bought new equipment. So we gamely posed, while he experimented with his lights, cameras and props.
Neighbors can make or break your neighbhood. Ours is definitely MADE.
2 comments:
Oh, this is too good an opportunity to pass up!
You braggadooooociuos nincompoop!
OUR neighbor just mowed down my peony plants! Our neighbor says WE are breaking the neighborhood!
OUR neighbor is still insisting that his property line cuts a jagged line across MY property line! OUR neighbor is a grumpy, chain-smoking trucker who hates the world! (and especially kids who are homeschooled and are too creative to stay indoors year round)
We just keep waving and smiling...maybe they'll understand someday.
I loved reading this!
Cost of one strawberry cream cake for a cookout: $8.
Cost of contribution to the July 4th margarita fund: $10.
Cost of two folding lawn chairs so you can sit on your neighbor's driveway on cool fall nights and talk about nothing: $12
Having neighbors who'll volunteer to lend you their truck to haul lumber and trees: Priceless.
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