Caution Children At Play....Caution Relationships At Work

Today I spent the day going to garage sales, managing my online garage sale business and being creative in the garage with all my good finds. It was one of those beautiful spring days when the sky was as blue as can be, the sun shone so bright, and temperature was perfect along with a nice breeze to help you float through the day. There were no phone calls from a single school (say what?) no seriously that is a feat in my life right now. It was truly a pleasurable day the only thing missing was sharing the day with someone else.

As I was going about my day the theme of my thoughts was that of relationship! Relationship I have to the world around me and the people therein. I was at one series of garage sales on this particular street and was struck by how the folks having the sales at the various homes were so friendly and kind and encouraging all the shoppers to check all the other sales up and down the block. I walked away from that set of sales wondering what kind of neighborhood that must be as the houses were different and the folks therein were just as different yet there was a sense of community that easily felt by those of us who were privileged to enter into their enclave for just a bit. This neighborhood was one I had never been in before (which is saying something given the size of Jeff City) but I was pleasantly surprised by this hidden gem nestled in the valley of one of our many hills.

Driving away I became thankful for the neighborhood in which I live and have relationship to on a daily basis. While the cars passing down our street have a tendency to drive too fast, I am so blessed by life here at “Ballard on the Green”, my nick name for the place I have called home for the past eight years. I know many of the neighbors by name and enjoy the comings and goings of the regulars. Every morning I see a gentleman who is surely in his 80’s as he walks by with his withered walking stick. He always raises his cane in greeting when he sees me or the kids, which is usually at 7:05 as we wait for the bus. Then we have the man who walks twice a day with his golden retriever named Callie. I only know Callie by name as my kids have made it their business to know every dog’s name that passes our house. Callie’s owner is always so polite and thoughtful to the kids and always gives a hearty hello as we pass one another. Then we have house right across the street where the activity is pretty constant as there is one young woman who lives full time in the house and then a variety of other folks who seem to come and go on a regular basis. It is interesting to me how much stuff can come and go in the back of a flatbed trailer and a pickup! This same house is blessed to have Nash (the great dane) as one of its inhabitants. Nash does not ever mean any harm, but when he gets loose and comes running over with his big black paws and huge tongue flapping you should see the kids go running for cover. Now this dog would never hurt anyone and is sweet as can be, but to the kids around these parts he is a wild horse that is bigger than they are.

Then that brings to me my own kids and dogs as I am sure they have made a significant impact on the neighborhood as a whole. The Ballard Bunch in addition to the brood next door number about 10 kids on any given day ranging from age 1 to 21. I am sure people when they drive by must think we must be some kind of group home or orphanage, though they would be wrong, it sure feels like it some days!

On the days when all the kids are out it is anything but peaceful. I can only hope and pray that the neighbors are blessed by the sounds of happy (mostly) children in the background. I can also pray that these same neighbors turn a deaf ear to the drum splitting screams of a child who was just the victim of another child’s errant fist or bicycle wheel that crushed their foot which will surely prevent them from ever walking backwards again (these are true sentiments people). Then there are the sounds of parental voices calling serendipitously to their children to come in for dinner after all we model our lives like the Cleavers and Nelsons. NOT! Honestly it feels more like I am one of the castaways who were voted off SURVIVOR Island during a tribal council of all of the children. Somedays it is all about strategy in how to get the kids in the house when the day is done without a temper tantrum on the front lawn from a kid and somedays even a parent.  Our house has also been known to be frequented by the police from time to time! I know right???? Don’t ask – what happens on the Meadow stays on the Meadow! So needless to say I have relationship with some great law enforcement officers in this town.

 

 

My four legged dogs have a tendency to want to get out and play. I have been so blessed in that every time those little Scotties have flown the coop that a kind neighbor has captured them and let us know that Maggie and Duncan have gone on a walkabout once again. Not to mention the fact that my darling pooches have their moments of extreme barking from the backyard. You know the old phrase, “Seen and not heard.” Well Maggie and Duncan cannot be seen from their posts in the backyard so they have made it their mission to be heard!

 

The kids have found a trail from our backyard down the creek past two other houses to a lovely grotto of trees where the creek tends to form a pool of very shallow water which somehow always manages to get their entire lower body soaked (whether it be January or July)! This oasis of water is behind the home of one dear older lady who has always been so kind to the kids. The kids love going down and talking to Miss Gloria and if they are lucky their granddaughter who is in high school is there and plays with them. Ms. Gloria always speaks to them and on more than one occasion has stopped and left a bag of fresh fruit or a box of cheerios on our doorstep! It is so cute, she obviously subscribes to the group home theory! LOL

All these neighborhood connections remind me of the one neighborhood I spent the longest in as a child. That would be over in Glendale (St. Louis suburb) on Nancy Carol Lane which we lived for four and half years, the longest we lived anywhere when I was growing up. There was Bill and Cindy a brother and sister that lived two doors up. Then Gretchen lived across the street and down two houses with her brother Bryan and then further down the street was a girl named Catherine. I remember during a series of snow days we would take turns eating lunch at each other’s homes. Don’t know why that sticks out for me, but it does. The other thing that sticks out was the day I was riding behind Gretchen on her bike and my shoe lace got caught in the chain and we all nearly died, or so we thought. Our house situated on our street towards the bottom of a big hill (I drove down that modest incline recently) and was the perfect place for roller skate races, bike trips and other adventures. It was also on this street that my 5^th grade teacher Mr. Marshall and his wife Beth lived. It was so great having Harley, which we were allowed to call him when not in school, nearby and he was always so friendly. This was the late 70s and early 80’s when male teachers was still somewhat rare, but he was a cool dude, or so we thought! There were two single ladies who lived next door to us and were always kind and friendly and while no one ever said it, I am sure now they were a couple. So funny I never even thought about that until just now. Never once were we worried about what time it was or who might be creeping in the neighborhood. We were safe and we all knew it.

I may be a bit naïve to think our neighborhood here on the Green is safe as life in Glendale was some 35 years ago, but I have come to know who is who and lord knows they all know who we are and where we live! While we may not have blocks parties in the summer and Christmas contests during the winter months I have a fairly strong sense of safety due to the relationships that exists. The brood family next door and I have a great relationship and we are all great friends as our kids tend to come and go between our two houses and yards which is great and I love it. I especially love it when those same kids from the brood walk in to my house without knocking wanting to know where my kids are or if I would kiss their booboo as I am closer than their mom or dad at the moment. Then there are the moments when we have to remind the little boys not to pee and poop outside! Oh the joy of it all!

Relationship is what we make of it. I love the relationship I have with my community here at Ballard on the Green. What are you doing with your neighborhood? Do you know your neighbors? Do they know you? It is the time of year to open the doors and go outside and give a friendly wave or have a casual chat. Stop hiding on the back deck and venture back to the front yard and take a chance on relationship that is right outside your front door which is where you will find me and the brood family watching the kids play and yelling at the cars to slow down as they drive by!