Neighbourly Neighbours
December 20th, 2006 RachelAdam and I came home to an unexpected surprise last night. Hanging from our doorknob was a gift bag addressed to ‘Mr. and Mrs.’. Now since our one trackminded state of working being means we don’t exactly have an army of friends in the building, I was pretty much betting that whoever left the gift had gotten the apartment number wrong.
It’s a big building.
But I was wrong - the gift was from our new neighbors across the hall. Just moved in a week or so ago, older, oooh’d and aaaah’d at Harley’s wiggly nature and made a little joke in the elevator the day after they arrived.
When did we stop doing this? What made this kind of neighborly ‘getting to know you’ tendency less and less common. And really…why didn’t we, as the residents who should be doing the welcoming, think of this first.
The gift? A lovely book about dogs. I sometimes struggle for days/weeks on what to get someone…they ‘got it’ with nearly complete strangers without relying on the ol’ standby of baked goods (though who can resist baked goods?).
I’m impressed, inspired, and looking forward to getting to know my new neighbours.
