Neighbors

Yeah, it’s been awhile, and numerous things have happened since my last post. Namely, we’ve moved from our house in Garland, where we’ve lived for the last 8 years, to a new house in Dallas city limits. I was sad to leave that house as I am the sentimental sort, but there is plenty about that house and that area that I won’t miss. For instance, I won’t miss the fact that I never knew any of my neighbors because everyone was a renter, and they rarely stayed longer than six months at a time.

The closest thing I really felt to a neighbor was the dog that lived catty-corner behind us, on the other side of the alley. I saw this dog in the backyard (chain-link fence) from the time it was a puppy, and it became part of these neighbors’ lives around the time Gabe was born. That was when I first got back into exercising, first walking and then biking, and as I passed by this house, the dog always ran along the fence and barked happily at me. It got to the point that the dog would wag her tail each time I walked down the alley. She would chase me along her fence when I drove down the alley as well, and if her owners were ever in the backyard with her, I’d always wave. That was a close as I got to really meeting them.

As we drove out of the alley for the last time, the dog chased me yet again, and I waved at her. I felt instantly sad. I was going to miss her; she was the closest thing I had to a neighbor. I wanted to get out of my car and tell her good-bye, and tell her owners if they came out that I would miss their dog. But we had an appointment to keep, and other people were driving behind me, so I didn’t pull over. I kind of regret it.

So as we went to our first house closing, I wondered a little bit about if we would have real neighbors with our new house. Growing up, we knew everyone who lived on our block. I’m still friends with several kids I grew up with on that street. We had block parties, borrowed cups of sugar, and my sister and I hung out at neighbors’ houses almost as much as our own. I never thought I’d live in a place like that again, but I’ve always wanted to, especially since I have kid(s) now.

Within six hours of owning the house, several neighbors stopped by to say hi and introduce themselves. During the large unload on the following day, a few others stopped by. I couldn’t tell you the names of anyone who lived near us in the 8 years we’ve lived in Garland. I can already tell you the names of our surrounding neighbors and a few others further down the street. One has already offered to loan us her teenage daughter as a babysitter.

Obviously it’s only been a week, and time will tell. I hope to get a little involved with the neighborhood association so I can meet more people. I never thought I’d find friendly people within Dallas itself–isn’t that usually reserved for the outer suburbia?–but I’m very excited, nonetheless.

Oh and have I mentioned practically everyone owns dogs? You know this has to be full of good people with this many dog lovers.