In April 2017 I kicked off a gratitude challenge where I wrote a daily blog post for 30 days (more on my learnings here). When the challenge ended I decided to continue the habit but only occasionally share these gratitudes on my blog. 

What does it mean to me to be neighborly?

When we moved to a new house in California, my wife decided she was going to get to know our neighbors. She made a huge batch of cookies and we started making visits. Relationships were formed and over the four years we lived in that house we developed meaningful friendships. 

Next door lived a women and two of her adult children. After eating my wife’s cookies, they wanted to do something nice. So the next time they went to the movies, they brought us back a tub of popcorn. My kids made paintings to say thank you. They then bought toys for our kids. This cycle went on and on.

When we had new babies, they came over to welcome them and looked for ways to help with the transition (that baby is almost 6 now!). We didn’t live near family, so it was special feeling that kind of love.

Had it not been for my wife deciding we were going to be good neighbors, we would have missed out on these relationships and memories.

To me, being neighborly means serving others when they’re in need. But it also means letting others serve YOU. Everyone wants to feel useful and filled with purpose. Everyone wants a sense of connection.

What does being neighborly mean to you?