Our house sits at a T in the road and we are at the top of that T, so a lot of our neighbors have an opportunity to see our front yard, anytime they drive in or out of our neighborhood. For a while, that meant I worried about our curb appeal. I wanted to make a good impression or at least not be the eyesore everyone talked about.

I’ve mellowed (significantly) since those early days. Now, instead of wanting to send the message that we care about our yard, we’ve chosen a less superficial message: “we’re glad you’re our neighbor.” Posting this at our high traffic intersection feels a *tiny bit like using my privilege to start a conversation or raise awareness about the importance of welcoming our neighbors.

Hey, if it does nothing else, at least it’s started a conversation in my head.

I used to think yard work was tough, but it would be easier to manicure every inch of our scruffy yard than to love every one of our neighbors; especially one particularly difficult neighbor, who I expect to steal our sign or damage it, because, in his opinion, messages like this don’t contribute to making America great again.

Little does he know, this will be as difficult for me to look at, some days, as it is for him. Because it includes him. It has to or it’s meaningless.

 

*Note I said “tiny.” It is not lost on me how much more I can and should do.