Moving Day

Our neighbors Melinda and Aaron and their daughter Adele moved to Portland last weekend.  As I recall, Adele was just a baby when they moved here.  We passed along a favorite toy, a horse with wheels, to Adele in 2008.  Over the years, we've seen them at block parties and and admired their porch decorations (was it a witch with a tutu at Halloween?) and seen them at lemonade stands.  The Sunday before they left Lynsley hosted a going away party for Melinda.  There was good food and good company.  We're excited for them -- Aaron has a new job there -- and are sure they'll love Portland.

They've sold their house, and sometime soon we will have new neighbors.  Melinda told me she had told the couple who bought the house that the street is special, that there are block parties and they should get involved and get to know their neighbors.  She wasn't sure when they would be moving in, but we'll look forward to meeting them when they do.

There are many reasons why it's good to know your neighbors.  It makes it easy to find someone to feed your cat or your rabbit or your turtle or your fish when you're out of town.  They can pick up your mail and keep an eye on your house while you're gone, and call 911 if guys in an unmarked truck start carrying your stuff out of your house.  If your dog gets lost, it's more likely to make it home quickly.  If your party goes late and stays loud, neighbors that know you are more likely to look for earplugs and less likely to call the police than otherwise.  If there's an issue affecting the neighborhood, whether it's crime or school redistricting, it's easier to organize for some kind of collective action, which is more likely to be effective.  And, of course, when you move away, your neighbors might throw you a going away party.

And we hope Melinda and Aaron find a great new neighborhood in Portland, and we'll look forward to meeting our new neighbors. In the meantime, I guess we need to find a date for that spring block party.