I love where I live.  Just a small little 1920s bungalow, with lots of charm.  Hmmmm…..funny word….”charm”.  It can mean anything from a cute little Spanish Hacienda to an old building that should have been demolished years before.  My “charming” place is somewhere in between.  It works for me and makes me feel it is home when I walk in the door.  I wonder what is the key to making a place ‘home sweet home’.  Is it the looks, the smell, the furnishings or maybe even the people that are your neighbors?  I love my neighbors too….we are quite an eclectic bunch.  The thing in old buildings is that their walls are quite thin and lack insulation for keeping the weather conditions out; but also allow a lot of your neighbor’s daily life to seep through the walls.  Instead of neighbors, we are more like roommates at times.   The daily sounds and smells drift in and out of the cardboard thin walls that hardly act like barriers.  Freshly brewed coffee for the early riser becomes the wake up call for another.  Whizzing sound of the vegan making a morning smoothie is the annoying sound for a late night-er who only arrived home a few hours before.  We all exist in our own worlds but with these intertwined sounds and smells floating in and out.  We have friends and family who get added to the mix.  We all consider this home.

MONDAY GETS NEIGHBOR-LY

 I wish I could introduce you to each of my neighbors and tell you some of their stories; but not sure that doesn’t violate some kind of privacy act.  There are so many rules and regulations now that it makes one afraid to even share our own stories for fear of being accused of some kind of intimate crime.  Too many secrets some times I think.  It makes us afraid to open up and share who we really are.  We become very protective and guarded….how can a community every grow and thrive if we are constantly monitoring what words we allow to be shared?  Maybe that’s why I like where my home is now.  Some of the barriers are brought down but still allowing a feeling of safety in our ‘charming’ little community.  We may not agree or even approve of what another is doing; but we co-exist quite nicely and are available for others when needed.

Hope you like your home too.  I really hope that you feel safe and happy in it too; and you enjoy your neighbors.  Home is really the most important place we will ever visit.  Without that feeling of “home”, there becomes a huge void in our lives.  Be thankful for your space as there are thousands of people who are not so lucky.

On this Monday,  look around your house and realize the comfort that it provides.  It may be designed exactly what you dreamed it would be or it may be ‘a work in progress’.  It may be pristine clean or piled high with clutter….no matter what is its condition…it is still Home!  Be sure to say ‘hello’ to your neighbor and ask how they are doing. We are sometimes absorbed in our own world and forget that someone else may be experiencing a time of need. We sometimes forget to even smile or even look at them when we are passing each other as we enter our abodes.

Today is Monday

You have another great opportunity to make someone’s day a little better.

Smile and say “Hello Neighbor!!”

It will make their day brighter….and yours too!

Smiles,

Nancy