Would you be mine, could you be mine, won't you be my neighbor?

Since I've been at home with Graham, I've seen a lot more of my neighbors. I watch what they are doing through our big picture window. I run into them while I'm on walks with Graham. I see them when Graham and I run errands. So, I've just been contemplating our neighborhood and trying to decide how to characterize it. Quirky, I think, is the best word. We live in one of those neighborhoods that only has 5 trick -or -treaters every year because most people on the block are old. I'm not talking 60 old, I'm talking like 80 old. One of those old people is "The Mayor." Now let me assure you that she is not really the mayor of our small town. I got excited when someone first told me that the mayor lived on the street behind me. I know it's bad, I still don't know who the real mayor is, but this lady is the neighborhood mayor. She told me that some people call her The Mayor, and some people call her something else (I'll refrain from using the word). I told her I was going to stick with calling her The Mayor, but I do see where the others are coming from! She knows the "going ons" of just about everyone. One day I looked out the window and saw an old lady picking weeds in my flower bed. I was freaking out. I've had some crazy weeds in the flower bed, but nothing as scary as an unfamiliar elderly lady.Thankfully, after a few minutes of trying to figure out if I should hide or go talk to her, I saw Jeff standing next to her. It was The Mayor. Apparently she was giving him a quick lesson in Weeding 101. Are you serious? You are going to come and pull weeds in my yard? She stopped by again yesterday, and while Jeff was mowing, she said, "The yard looks good. You just need to trim back the crepe myrtles, or they will overtake your entire drive." Translation: "It's about dang time that you cut that grass, and if you don't trim those bushes, I'll level them in the morning." Oh well. We probably won't hear from her again until it's time to cut back the monkey grass. But I still like her even though she might not like our yard.

Yesterday, I looked out the window, and the neighbor across the street was brushing his teeth while watering his plants. I mean, really? Did you not have time to do it at the sink? It only takes like 2 minutes (or less) to brush your teeth, unless you have one of those timer tooth brushes. He brushes, spits, and then washes his tooth brush out with the water hose. You gotta love it.

And then there is the lady who stopped me at the park (which isn't exactly in my neighborhood)when Graham was a few months old. She pulled her car up to mine as I was loading up the stroller after a nice walk. "I saw you exercising out there with your baby. I thought you might be interested in this support lingerie I'm selling." No I wasn't interested, but I looked at her brochure anyway. She told me it could make me look like 20 pounds lighter. She was having a meeting to showcase her product in a few days, and she said, "You could even be one of the models to show the before and after." Hmmm....let me think about that one. You stalk me while I'm walking in the park, basically tell me that I'm fat and have a tummy that needs to be shrunken, you then invite me to a party where you want people to glare at my post-preggo belly and then let them stare at me in support lingerie. No thanks. I know you really built up my self esteem by asking me to "model," but I'm not feeling so confident sporting the pudgy belly these days. Whew....just had to vent for a minute!

But there are things I love about our town and little neighborhood. I love how Jeff and I watch people as they go on their evening walks and comment on their lives even though we don't know them. "We'll looks like he got a haircut today." "Have you ever seen him walking with that girl?" "Do you think they are sisters or partners?" I love how one day we saw a pregnant mom, a 2 year old girl in a stroller, and the dad walking down the street. And the next week we saw the mom, the dad, and two strollers. It's sweet to think how life goes on. And I do love how people are friendly and willing to help despite their inclination to pry. Our neighborhood is quirky at times, but it keeps life interesting and gives me something to blog about!