Love Thy Neighbor

I think I must have the sweetest neighbors a young mother could ask for. Since we moved into our house 5 years ago( my goodness that doesn't seem right) Mae and her sweet card playing husband Tubby (I don't know his real name) have been nothing less than true neighbors. For starters we share a driveway that runs between our houses. We have a pecan tree that hangs right over this driveway and it has been dropping pecans for several months now. And I in my laziness have been simply driving and crunching over the pecans ever since. One day I looked out the window and saw Mae sweeping up the pecans and I felt very guilty. Mae is not a young woman. I think it would be a safe bet to say that she is in her seventies or even early eighties. And here she was sweeping the driveway. Later when I drove down the smooth and pecan-free driveway I felt even more guilty.. A couple of days later the pecans had piled up again and I heard a little knock on our side door and it was Mae. She said " Cassi, do you want these pecans?" (Imagine this in a slightly southern, high pitched, and raspy voice). I said very respectfully" No Ma'am, I need to sweep them up again, Thank you for doing it earlier this week ". She replied " That's okay, do you mind if I take them and use them for some pecan butter". I was greatly relieved that she was not put out with us and our returning mass of pecans. I said " Of course take as many as you want".

Later that evening Tobey and I were returning from a walk and he saw Mae up ahead on the sidewalk. He wiggled his tiny hand from mine and ran to her with his arms outstretched. She immediately opened her arms and gave him a tight embrace and said "How are you little Cody". Sometimes she calls him by his rightful name and sometimes he is Cody or Colby. I don't have the heart to correct her so I just go with it. As I get near them I notice that Mae's pockets are bulging and sagging and she has a palmful of pecans in her hands. I am immediately taken with a vision of my own grandma with handfuls of pecans that she collected while strolling around her yard. This is why Mae is so endearing to me. Since we first met I have been drawn to her because she reminds me of my grandma in so many ways. We chat for a few minutes and then we each head to our separate houses. She yells over her shoulder "Thanks for the pecans and I will have to bring over a pecan pie sometime". Oh yes please do!

Mae has been a wonderful neighbor in other ways too. She was very encouraging during the years before I got pregnant. She was one of the few that I opened up to about our difficulties in getting pregnant. She always had a kind word and simple words of wisdom that I took great comfort in. The week we brought Tobey home from the hospital she stopped by with a gift. It was a homemade cloth book. Now I don't know if she made it or bought it at a garage sale. I didn't ask but it was the most perfect gift that could have come from her because she is homemade all the way. Let me paint a small picture of Mae. She runs a fresh fruit and vegetable market here in our town. She has the most beautiful flowers in her yard and she sets buckets around her house to collect rain water to water these beautiful flowers. She is a faithful recycler. She even has a compost pile in her backyard. She has a clothesline and she hangs "everything", I mean "everything" out to dry. She used to do all the yardwork too but she finally broke down and hired someone to take care of the yard. Oh, and she has a pet turtle and a pet rabbit. How can you not love this woman and be inspired by her resourcefulness?

That day she came over to see Tobey for the first time she told us that if we ever needed her to babysit or sit with Tobey while we ran to the store that she would be around. She has repeated that several times over the last two years. Tobey was over a year old before I took her up on her offer. There have been several times that I have taken the baby monitor over to her while Tobey was napping. She would listen out for him so I could make a quick dash to the grocery store. She even kept him one afternoon so that I could go to a conference at church. This morning I got home from work to find her sitting in our living room reading a newspaper. Rodney had to leave so that he could catch his flight and he had asked her to come sit for about thirty minutes until I got home. She did not hesitate. She is that kind of neighbor and I do love her dearly. As the holidays approach I am looking forward to our neighborly tradition. We have a basket that we fill up with goodies and treats to give each other. Whoever was the last to recieve the basket is the first to intiate the gift giving the next year. If anybody has some yummy holiday recipes feel free to post them in a comment. I want to make the basket extra special and yummy this year for a neighbor who is easy to love and deserving of some lavish holiday treats.