Howdy Neighbor....mind if I come in...

You should get to know your neighbors. That is the tidbit of advice I have to offer all of you today. You should get to know them because invariably you will one day be knocking on their door when you lose your keys after a morning out with your daughter and you will need to use their phone to call your husband so he can drive 15 minutes home to unlock the door so you can get into your house. You will also need to get to know them so they won't mind when you rush back out into the snow to tell the daycare parent arriving at noon that there is a location change; call it a "field trip" for just a few minutes before nap time.
Now all of this could go two ways. If you don't know your neighbor, you might knock on the wrong door and end up with Mrs. Robinson (www.wwjblog.blogspot.com) If, like me, you have had the privilage of meeting your neighbor you will actually have a tea and a lovely visit and you will wonder why on earth you waited so long to get together again. Having a neighbor like mine makes an inconvenient occurance into an inspirational experience. Let me tell you about my neighbor. When we made our unannounced call on her, she opened her door and as I explained myself, she ushered us in the door and handed me her phone. "well this is just the perfect time for you to visit us" she says as she helps Dora out of her snowsuit, "we didn't have any plans for today and we didn't know what we would do this afternoon. Can I put on some tea?" Now I don't know about you, but if I am not expecting anyone, my house isn't usually what you would call 'Company Ready'. At Margot's, the hardwood floors are shining, the kitchen is freshly wiped, and there is a brand new loaf of whole wheat bread on the bread board. Margot reminds me of the 1950's housewife - the housewife I would aspire to be who runs around in an apron, baking cookies and taking refreshing walks with her children. BC (Before Children) she worked at the Art Gallery, so her home is filled with beautiful, tastefull artwork, and there is a gallery of her own children's artwork on the back wall leading upstairs. In short, she's quite amazing.
After our tea, the kids had a little play, and we came home....mine are napping now...and I think I'd better go sweep up my floor and shine up my kitchen...you never know who might come knocking on my door looking for my phone and a little inspiration.

Lee