Yesterday my family spearheaded a block BBQ.
It actually went extremely well. More than 15 families came and all brought food. We shared dinner and where I was concerned there wouldn’t be enough food….we had loads of leftovers.
I got to meet and chat with many neighbors. Some I’d met at the block Easter egg hunt we held in April. Some were new faces.
All were happy to be there and were looking for ways to make connections. In our world today we are so busy we don’t even know how to meet and connect with our neighbors.
I think that deep down many of us wish we lived in a different time. One where we sit on the porch and chat with our neighbors as our kids ride their bikes up and down the block. A world where it’s OK and normal to go ask your neighbor for a cup of milk or sugar. A place where your neighbor knows you by name and greets you with it and a smile.
So, it is my goal to do something to help those who want this too, on our block to actually get it.
And the blessing in it all yesterday….the feeling g of being a part of something bigger than myself.
I also had the opportunity to chat with a neighbor and apologize for my son’s behaviour and give an explanation and a pre-apology. This led to an open conversation and my vulnerability about my imperfect child allowed her to open up about hers. That was the biggest blessing yesterday. That and meeting and building relationships with 30 of our neighbors who are becoming our friends.
One neighbor even asked her friend to come. She’s a professional clown. She made balloon animals for all the kids and brought them all their own clown noses. The kids loved it!
So, July and August and September we will do it all over again. Next week I will sit down with one of the neighbors and plan it out and make a flyer for my kids to deliver….