Yesterday Mary and I met in the kitchen just before noon. “What’s for lunch?” I asked.
“That’s what I was going to ask you,” came her reply. “We don’t really have anything.” She hardly had the words out when the back door bell rang.
There on the step was our good neighbor with a tray filled with three cups of home made ice cream, chocolate syrup, butterscotch syrup, crushed nuts and a plate of three brownies.
“Do come in,” Mary said. “What’s the occasion?”
“Today is our oldest daughter birthday we always make ice cream for the kids’ birthdays; and I take the day off.”
“Thanks! Three cups?” I counted. “It looks like you should sit and have a cup with us.”
“I’d like that!” he said as he came into the kitchen.
Then the three of us sat and enjoyed the fruits of his and his family’s efforts and some good neighborly conversation.
And what good neighbors he and his family are! They are in the midst of building an addition to their house and a pool. It really has messed up his back yard and the view from our window. In addition, large rock-breaking machines had spent 2 weeks pounding bed rock to make room for the pool. None of this surprised us as he had told us months before they started that they were thinking about building a pool or moving. We encouraged them to stay and build a pool. He was concerned that the kids might make too much noise in the pool and disturb us. We both assured them that pool noise is happy noise and we would never want to shut down happiness.
He has invited us to the “Grand opening” of the pool, and we will be there even though neither of us swim.
We are just so happy to have such good neighbors that we try to be like them. If you don’t have good neighbors try to be a good neighbor to them and see what happens.