Old Friends

I write from time to time about my neighbors... most of us have lived here in this beautiful spot for thirty years. We've raised families.....we've seen joy and sadness in each of our lives. We haven't just watched people live, we have lived with each other, and so we love each other. And because of that, when one experiences joy we all feel that joy, and when one experiences sadness we all feel the sadness. It is such a comforting feeling to be a part of a neighborhood of what I like to call "old friends". On summer evenings I can sit out on my porch, just as twilight comes and it starts to cool down...I can almost here one of the kids yell "over the can on Mandy" and then the screams of all the others as they run in to kick the can before they get caught. But of course it is not those kids screams I hear, but new young kids who are out playing their games. Different kids, different games, but the same, because they are the children of this magical neighborhood. Where everyone knows everybody and cares what happens to you and sticks together. No one ever wants to leave to find a bigger house or a grander area to live in, because they would rather be with their "old friends". So we all fix up our homes and add on if we have to, because our real estate in this little part of the world is more valuable than any amount of money you could place on it. It is the kind of place that, when married children come back, everyone knows them and we can tell their children stories about their parents as young kids and what kind of characters they were. On July 4th we have a wonderful breakfast in the Jorgensen's backyard. All the neighbors come and their married kids and families...how fun to get together and see people we knew from the time they were born and now they have children of their own. We give hugs, we laugh, we sometimes share a tear over someone who isn't with us anymore. But there is a tie that cannot be broken....because we have lived with one another and shared the most important moments of our lives with these beautiful people...our dear "old friends".