I’ve had all kinds of neighbors.
Good and Bad.
Nameless, faceless neighbors you wave at as you pick up your
mail.
Neighbors who leave unfriendly notes on your front door to
stay off their driveway.
Neighbors who knock on your door once a year to collect for
a particular charity.
Neighbors whose dogs are more familiar to me than the
owners.
When we moved onto Middle Earth Street four years ago, we
hit the neighbor jackpot. We moved next
door to the V. family. Not only are they
kind, personable, interesting people, they are easy to live by. They don’t leave nasty notes or have loud,
drunken parties. They don’t have an
annoying dog or leave trash out that blows onto our yard. These are the kind of people you want to live
by for the next 20 years.
We have been the benefactor of great hand-me-downs from the
V. family: a doll house, more Barbie
dolls than I can count, clothing, a bicycle, baseball equipment, even a patio
table and chairs. What do we give the V.
family?
WINE!
We do not drink, but several times a year we are the
recipients of bottles of wine which are always handed over to the V.
family. After delivering several expensive
bottles last Christmas, Mrs. V. exclaimed,
“I love living next to
Mormons!”
For dinner I served hamburgers on the grill, barbecue potato
chips, bow tie pasta salad, fresh corn salad, strawberries, and carrots with
dip. Mrs. V. made an ice cream pie with
an amazing candied corn flake crust.
After four years of neighborliness, we know the V. family
well. We have passed beyond the
get-to-know- you questions. Like us, the
V. family has three children, however, they have about eight more years’ parenting
experience. Living next to the V. family gives us a
glimpse of new teen drivers, first boyfriends, college preparation, and
juggling hectic schedules.
The real estate market in Las Vegas is often reported to be
the worst in the United States. Home
values have dropped so much that most home owners are under water on their
mortgage. Lucky for us, we have no plans
to move. We hope to stay in our home for
many years to come.
We really hope the
V. family stays on Middle Earth Street too.
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