Bye, Neighbor

Our neighbor across the street is moving. It's quite bittersweet for us because we've had many wonderful memories with this neighbor and they've been very kind to us. When we initially moved into the house, our kitchen sink clogged. Our neighbor saw us out late at night poking around our clean-out. He came over and helped us snake it. No significant debris came up, but somehow the kitchen clog cleared. 

During my first pregnancy, I was outside raking leaves one afternoon and he came over and helped me suck them up with his nifty leaf vacuum. I don't know if he knew I was pregnant or not, but he was very kind. 

When our daughter turned one, we invited them over for a small neighbor get-together to celebrate her. That same month, his wife turned 70 and we celebrated her. After having both kids, we've spontaneously knocked on their door to see if they had some time just to chat and they've graciously welcomed us into their home and let the kids poke around their belongings while we chatted. 

As I watch cars drive up and park to go in for showings, it's sad knowing their home will soon belong to someone else. But it also occurred to me that they've done this before. They've seen a neighbor sell their house and change ownership. I've done this before as a buyer when we bought this house. 

When I came to see our house for the first time, I parked across the street, in front of their house. I remember looking to my right and thinking to myself, This is a pretty house with great curb appeal. And then I crossed the street and went to see my future home. Perhaps they happened to look out the window a few times and notice the cars passing by with prospective buyers. Maybe they had noticed me. 

Now I'm the one seeing the cars...

We had a fun story last year delivering their Christmas card. This year we will need to put theirs in the mail, and we won't get to stop and chat for a while. We're going to miss them.