Well, summer has kicked in full swing here in Kentucky. Not only do we get the beautiful sunshine, but we also get to enjoy the humidity. We call ’em 90-90 days. 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity. I was dreading it but with the pool and the affordability of keeping the A/C going in the house there are places you can retreat to and cool off. That wasn’t the case in CA. Granted, we only got one or two 100+ degree days but other than driving to the beach, we had no options. Our postage stamp sized lot couldn’t hold a pool (and an inground was too expensive) and thanks to our wonderful governor Gray Davis, we couldn’t afford the electricity for A/C with all the blackouts and brownouts. I actually heard people calling them “Gray-outs”. So anyway, even though it’s hotter here, we have tools to deal with it.
Unless, of course, someone decides to hold the annual church picnic at the end of June. That’s where we went today. It combines all three services into one big service held at 10:45am outside on the lawn. Great concept, bad timing. I brought our lawn chairs, quilts and sunscreen. I was able to squeeze my folks and kids under some spotty shade but the rest of us bore through the service in the sun. It was very uncomfortable and I used the kids wanting water as an excuse to “escort” them so I could have a few moments inside the A/C. It was a very friendly and warm (literally) service. The sermon was about being more welcome, more neighborly and more friendly as stewards of Christ. My wife and I looked at each other when the pastor referred to neighbors not knowing each other and that they should get out and welcome those who live around them. That makes for a nice transition to the birthday party we had yesterday.
What a blast! We ended up having around 20 kids and 20 adults over. A few were the family friends we have made through school and around town with the rest being each one of our neighbor families. It was great to spend some time getting to know them and watch all the kids play together. Since I plan on being here a while, it was nice to strengthen those ties and bonds. I especially wanted to share one of my assets — the pool — with my neighbors and their kids because they had helped us out several times before. From helping us get the Suburban unstuck to not suing us because of a dog fight to saving my back to helping us rookies with our new garden, we have had the extreme good luck fortune to move next to several wonderful families. I feel very blessed to have them here. Neighbors who will help you out in a moment’s notice. Neighbors who you can enjoy good times and special events with. Neighbors who are down to earth and care about you and your kids but who also don’t care too much and become that nosy neighbor that doesn’t have a life and intrudes into yours. We have a really good balance with the people here and look forward to many enjoyable years here with them. One of them even came in to the house to chat with my folks. He was telling them how lucky they were to have us move in to the house. Well, I tell ya — each of our neighbors might have gotten one nice family when we moved but we got the better end of the deal because we got several nice families when we moved.
I’ll just end this post with this — “Thanks, neighbors!”
…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net
