New neighbors

We have two new families who moved onto our little block. We only have 8 houses on our short block, so when two of them change owners it is a big deal. One family has a little girl, just under a year, and the other couple is expecting. We love having babies on the block.

When we moved into our first home we had a six-month old. We lived in a little bungalow between two elderly women. They were very different but they were so excited to have us there.

The neighbor to the north was a little reserved and did not get along well with her other neighbors. She was probably somewhere in her 80's and had no living children. Her husband was an invalid at the VA hospital. She warmed to us though and when my daughter trick or treated on her first Halloween after we were there a month, she presented her with a pretty little pink dress as her treat. She gave us some old Christmas decorations that first Christmas, a couple of which we still have. The following summer she had a stroke in her back yard on Memorial Day weekend during a rainstorm. We found her and got her into the house, enlisting the help of another neighbor who was also a nurse. We cleaned her up and took her to the hospital where she died within the week. We were glad her last few months were brightened with having a baby girl next door.

The second, to the south, was a very friendly and loving woman, I believe in her 80's. She loved when my daughter and I would visit and she would watch her play on the living room carpet. She had grandchildren who lived nearby but none as young as my daughter. She sometimes came out and took pictures of us and always gave us copies. When she got cancer, R used to go visit her to brighten her day. She died at home, surrounded by family. I like to think we brightened her last few years too.

When we moved onto that block, we were one of only two families with small children. Within a few short years, there were many kids on the block which livened things considerably. The elderly homeowners who had lived in their bungalows for years were passing away or moving to retirement homes, and their houses were purchased by young families. Like us.

We bought our house on that block from an elderly couple. We first saw the house during an open house but they were there at the time. We bid on the house immediately, but found out another couple had bid as well. They were taken with us and our beautiful baby girl, so they decided to sell to us. I remember when we were looking at the house, the woman asked to hold my daughter while we looked around. I believe that did it. While we were waiting to close on the house, the woman had a stroke and had to go into a nursing home rather than the retirement home they were planning. We were sad for their difficult turn of events, but I believe that she was happy with the thought of us moving into their little home...as were we.

I'm not saying we're now the elderly couple on the block, next in line to have a stroke. But I do think we learned from our previous neighbors as well as the good neighbors we now have. We try to appreciate the young families and make them feel welcome, just as neighbors did for us when we were the young family on the block.