The Wall That Neighbors Built

LAP here. For the new readers, I am MEP’s younger and less literary-focused sister. It’s been a while since my last guest post, as MEP’s hubby likes to remind me. Since they are still busy with Baby Boy as well as Bub, the world’s most active and freakishly strong two year old*, I will try to fill in the gaps in her postings until her maternity leave is declared over.

So, over the weekend, it was operation neighborly bonding. We live in a nice little suburban neighborhood with roughly 50 houses. My husband and I moved into the house six years ago, before we had children. I’ll never forget the first day I drove by the bus stop on my way to work and saw a sea of blue and white, comprised of about 50 young grade school children (Catholic schooling is big in this neck of the woods). We assumed that with such a large child population, the neighborhood would be bustling with activity. That hasn’t exactly been the case. There is the occasional kickball game in the cul-de-sac, the annual pre-trick-or-treat gathering, and periodic bonfires on the neighbor’s driveway, but the reality is that families are busy with sporting events, two parents working, etc. so we haven’t really become BF’s with many of our neighbors.

However, we are very good friends with the family two doors down. They have two small children as well so our social lives run pretty parallel. The great news for us is that these friends of ours are putting in a pool. Part of this process involved putting up a retaining wall in their backyard. So, on Saturday my husband set his alarm for 5:55am to allow himself time to dress, grab two Gatorades and head two doors down to begin the wall building process before it got too hot. Trusty future pool owner M was there ready to start as well, which reflects the sort of reliable folks they are.

About 10am, I went out on our deck to survey the work in their backyard and saw a somewhat glorious sight. Not only were my husband (BB) and M working hard, but several other neighbors had stopped by and were helping as well. A sampling of the demographic included a guy who came over after his 72-mile cycle that morning and his 12 year old son who I estimate at about 80 pounds. The girls and I walked down to survey the situation, and my husband’s eyes lit up as he told me that the eighteen year old kid across the street was going to come help scoop gravel after lunch and the lad’s father was going to man the level to make sure everything stayed even. The teamwork persisted until about 3:30pm, with only one short lunch break. It looks great, and we were told that BB’s sweat equity earned us a lifetime membership to the pool, NTB.

I feel the need to also point out that M’s wife called and also stopped by our house during the day to thank me for the use of my husband. This may make him sound like property, but she gets what many people don’t. NTB, but BB is a helpful sort of guy. However, what people seem to forget is that every time he is helping to shovel snow, fix siding on a house, get his company truck to move yet another relative, or pick up mulch for a truckless neighbor, I am at home with our two darling but sometimes emotional girls. Selfish as it may sound, I grow weary of hearing how nice and helpful my husband is with no acknowledgement that I have given up a Saturday of having him around to help me in return. Of course, in this case it was absolutely worth it, with or without M’s wife thanking me. They would help us with anything we ever needed and have on many occasions.

So, the countdown to the grand opening of the pool is on. M has declared himself the “unofficial fastest swimmer in the neighborhood” though he has no formal swimming experience. My husband has told him that he believes that title should belong to me. I’m less concerned about the title (though I do secretly covet it) and more focused on my future of sitting around the pool with a nice cold beverage. Who knows, maybe some other neighbors will join as well and the bonding will continue…

* Being the mother of a two year old and being surrounded by others that age on a regular basis, I feel secure in making such a claim.