I say time and again that when you buy a house, your neighbors are the most important things that you know absolutely nothing about before you sign on the dotted line ... and they make or break how much you enjoy what is probably the biggest purchase of your life.
Luckily we have great ones.
This year I was put in charge of our annual block party, held last Saturday. I had big shoes to fill. The neighbor I took over from organized it all for some 15 years, and yet another neighbor for some 15 years prior to that. But I was eager to take on the role, and only slightly intimidated. I've spearheaded the day's kid activities for the last several years, so overseeing the whole picture seemed basically administrative.
And that proved largely correct. Our block has about 30 homes, and a great number of them are eager to participate and help out. I basically made sure that all of the tasks were taken care of, and they were. As in years' past, neighbors brought down tables, chairs, tents and grills. Someone picked up and dropped off the barricades to block off the road. Another neighbor came up with new ideas, like scavenger hunts and a men's bake-off (which Paul won!). Yet another neighbor and his friend brought their guitars to breakfast and late at night, playing music until bedtime.
Rain broke up supper and delayed the get-together at a neighbor's home that evening, but I'm so happy with the way everything turned out. My only regret: I forgot to take photos. Make that two regrets: that the next block party is a whole year away.
