Day 27: Mending Fences

We have new neighbors. Well, okay so they’re not really new – they’ve lived next door for two years now. But considering that the previous family was there when we bought our house and through the next eight years, the second family is relatively new.

I’ve spoken to them once.

And it wasn’t a very inviting conversation, either. See, before Cheryl and her family sold the house to these new people, I had been wanting a privacy fence in the back yard (long story, but that’s the one side of the yard that didn’t have a privacy fence.) But I hated the idea of blocking out Cheryl, and besides, after so many years go by, how rude is that? So when Cheryl sold the house I said to Dom, “Honey! We HAVE to build that fence before new neighbors move in. Otherwise, if we wait, then they will think we don’t want to be friends when we wall off their yard!” I got The Look.

The new neighbors moved in. I intended to take a pound cake or something equally Southern to welcome them to the neighborhood. But my intentions in that arena usually stagnate. So, no pound cake. A year went by, and I still had not met them. We finally made arrangements to build the fence.

Me: “Honey! We HAVE to tell our neighbors that we’re building a fence.”

Dom: “They don’t care.”

Me: “Of course they care! It will affect the look of their backyard. How could they not care?”

Dom: “It’s a fence. They don’t care.”

Me: “Well, I think the chain link fence actually belongs to them, so we need to ask if they want it taken down or connected to our fence in any way. We can’t just alter what is theirs without asking first.”

Dom: (sighing) “Alright. But you’re doing all the talking.”

We visited them the next time they were in their front yard. We walked over and I introduced myself and Dom. They did not share their names with us. We cheerily told them about the plan to build a fence, and asked their desire for the existing chain link. The man said we could just butt the new fence up to theirs. No need to mess with his fence. We thanked them and went home. I recall feeling glad to be walling off my neighbors.

A year has since passed. Neighbor Lady glares at us. Once, she stepped outside to watch Dom cut a huge tree branch which partially hung over the property line. She didn’t look happy about what we were doing, but she didn’t bother to ask us anything or even offer comments. She just glared. And to be quite honest, I was still peeved over our one conversation, so I didn’t say anything to her either. We just kept working. And when we had cleaned everything up Neighbor Lady went back inside.

All of our encounters since then have run along the same lines. Up to and including tonight, when I stood seven feet away from Neighbor Dude, waved and said “Hi!”

He just looked at me. No hi. No wave. Not even a nod. Is it me???

I am determined to at least be a cheerful neighbor. I have a cross and scripture on a large stone in my flowerbed. They have a large metal cross on the front wall of their house. I think, even on the most basic level, that this signifies we may have the same core belief. Maybe?? If we have this in common, then shouldn’t we speak?

This new venture may never bear fruit, but I will try to do my part. I will keep smiling and waving, and maybe, just maybe, one day Neighbor Dude or Neighbor Lady will smile back, and then I’ll have something to build on.