We first met our neighbors when we returned their mail. They live two streets away but our house numbers are similar. Within a week, the mail carrier who was new to the delivery route, gave them our mail. So, we met again.
After those mail exchanges, my husband and I noticed that we shared a similar dog walking schedule with these neighbors, bumping into one another daily, several days in a row. They appeared to be around our age and as fellow dog lovers, these frequent, seemingly random encounters encouraged a deeper exploration of who they were.
Until this experience, we’d had many neighbors over for dinners and holiday parties but we lacked shared interests leaving potential for friendships in casual mode. Maybe it shouldn’t have been a surprise that people who chose to live in the same neighborhood would have some interests and priorities in common. But the degree to which these neighbors connected with us was noteworthy and a consistently terrific surprise.
We’re all adjusting to relinquishing control of careers after decades in charge. We’ve retired from companies we’ve formed and left career paths behind, although we all continue to provide consultations part time. We volunteer and support non-profits, participating in the arts and championing animal rescue. We’ve formed an impromptu book club sharing books we’ve read and discuss them when we get together.
As the months morphed into years, so has our friendship. With other long-time friends and grown children living in other states, we compare travel stories and complexities of having house guests for longer periods of time. Unlike with our parents, the kids don’t come to our houses for Sunday dinner. Now, it’s long weekends requiring travel or extra beds, food and flexibility.
We’re grateful to share the freedom and challenge of growing older without dwelling on what is left behind. If socializing is truly, as the news reports indicate, one of the foundations of health and longevity, that’s just another bonus of getting to know these neighbors. It’s great to now share evenings with friends whose home we can walk to.
Getting to know you,
Jane
