I have been lucky to have incredible neighbors wherever I have lived for all of my life. My childhood was tinged by the tragedy of my father’s death but the wonderful people among whom I grew into an adult were always ready to help me and my family. I felt safe and loved and part of something bigger than just me, my two brothers and my mother. Save for the trauma of losing my father I enjoyed what some might describe as an idyllic childhood on Belmark Street in southeast Houston.
Eventually I would leave home and begin a new life with my husband, Mike. We started our decades long journey in a couple of apartments where I once again encountered people who walked along with me as I grew into and more independent adult. They were my peers but also my teachers who were filled with practical skills that they shared with me for surviving in the world.
When our children were still so young that they had not yet started school we moved to our first home near Hobby Airport. There we were the youngsters on the block, surrounded by men and women who might have been our wise older brothers and sisters. I knew that they were watching over us, making sure that we would be okay in our new role as home owners. They were wonderful people whose doors were always open to us whenever we needed advice or just a place to stop for a time and chat.
We grew into middle age there as our neighbors began to show the wrinkles and greying hair of of time catching up with them. I sensed and feared that we would be left behind to take on the role of the elders while they moved on to homes with smaller yards and fewer responsibilities. I knew it was time to make a move of our own. Thus we relocated to our present house on a lovely cul-de-sac in Pearland. Oddly enough we found ourselves being the older people among young folk just starting families and growing their careers.
We had lived in our former home for over thirty years surrounded by the same people, but the people near our new home seemed to come and go with regularity. In particular the house next door seemed to have a revolving door with different families coming and going. Then one day a lovely woman named Melissa came to stay there for a time with her husband and little girl. She was a friendly soul who first saw me outside with my granddaughter and immediately invited the two of us to a birthday party for her child.
We felt like part of her family from the get go. From that moment forward she showered us with friendliness and generosity. She was young enough to be my daughter but we had a connection that surpassed age. I was enthralled with the loveliness of her personality and hoped that she would tarry for a longer time than others had spent in the house that seemed destined to be a way station rather than a settled home.
Sadly Melissa too moved away far more quickly than I had hoped but she made sure that our friendship would survive by keeping our connection alive through social media and her thoughtfulness in difficult times. She delivered flowers and goodies and fine conversation after a surgery that I had. She kept me apprised of her busy life and the new joys of having a second daughter. I saw that she was loved and admired by everyone who met her and that she was energetic beyond what seemed to be humanly possible.
Melissa was always doing something wonderful for anyone having a difficult time. Many months ago she built a “blessing box” near her home that she filled with staples of food that is always there for anyone who needs it. She keeps an eye on the contents making sure it is never empty. She encourages those who are able to do so to help with her project by bringing their own offerings. She asks nothing of the people who come to her little food pantry and cheerfully makes known that anyone is welcome to partake of its contents.
After the hurricane that hit our area of the country there were people in dire need. Without power for days they lost the food that they had purchased for their families. Because many businesses were closed some were unable to work and earn the funds they needed to purchase replacements for the items that had gone bad. Melissa reminded everyone that her blessing box was open and people came to accept her largesse. One such person left a lovely note for her explaining the depth of her despair in being unable to feed her hungry children. Then she remembered reading about the blessing box and found her way to where it stood filled with just what she needed to stave off hunger. Then she blessed Melissa with her gratitude.
I have learned over time of the goodness of people. I have been the recipient of their loving concern again and again. From the neighbors on Belmark Street to my present day home I have been surrounded by individuals like Melissa who go out of their way to be good neighbors. It is from this continuing experience that I draw optimism even in the most difficult times.
Perhaps I have simply been lucky wherever I have lived, but I think that the truth is that people want to be kind and loving and helpful. There is a goodness in each of us that finds its way into the hearts of those who live around us. Some folks are more outgoing and inclined to be quintessential neighbors like Melissa but when there is a need mostly everyone rises to the occasion. I remind myself of that everyday, especially when we are led to believe that we are living through times of doom. I suspect that when everyone looks around they find the kind of blessings that Melissa so beautifully offers multiplied millions of times over. It’s nice to remember the blessings around us even when the skies are gray and the times are challenging.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 