Building Friendships on the Front Porch

My husband and I have a built in surround sound system in our condo. We are both a little deaf...well maybe a lot deaf!!! Our movies are a bit loud. I love plants and seem to overflow a little with plant enthusiasm. We have small grandchildren than can be rambunctious. And, as with people that have always lived in large houses, we have way to much stuff!!! I ask a lot of my neighbors when it comes to forgiveness and understanding. And they tolerate me. Needless to say, I love my neighbors. We have such a great relationship and we each lead lives that do not intersect in anyway accept when we visit on the front porch or have a small social gathering.

I had a group in for wine last evening and we visited about past experiences, things we were reading or which bottle of wine we liked best. The party extended down the way to a neighboring townhouse as well. I play golf with one woman, belong to a book club with another, get beautiful vegetables from an organic garden from another couple, share a career with another and find the person that lives next door interesting and creative. When I woke this morning I was full of enthusiasm for my community.

As I recall the evening though, I think the most important thing is we looked each other in the eye, felt concern for illnesses and problems. We feel concern! I think that in the long run gatherings like this will serve us well. When problems occur in our condo unit, and trust me they will, we will know each other well enough that we will be able to talk things over, get problems solved to get things done.

We are keeping our fingers crossed! We plan on living here a long time.

b