The neighbors I didn’t know I needed
It’s not that I had instant seller’s remorse.
It’s not that at all.
As I’ve shared here, I’ve made peace with the decision to sell our house in the big city, the one I owned for 25 years.
It’s not the house.
It’s the neighbors.
You see, I’ve had a lucky streak.
Over the years, multiple homes, including this one, I’ve had the most incredible neighbors. You know the kind of people who are always there for you no matter what you need?
This particular street has been no exception.
“If we included the value of the neighbors that you are getting,” I wrote in an email to the buyers, “we would have had to charge a billion dollars for the house.”
The email was an introduction. New buyers meet your awesome neighbors.
What ensued was hardly a surprise.
Neighbor after neighbor sent the warmest welcome with promises to have them over very soon.
Because I was the one who originated the email change I was included in every reply.
Dear Reader, have you ever thrown a party you didn’t get invited to?
Do you, too, have neighbors that are like family, that make the value of your home go up exponentially?
It’s one thing Husband and I have given up by moving to this remote coastal marsh. It’s one thing to live on 10 acres. It’s another to live among a community with folks who are different than us.
Don’t get me wrong. There are good people everywhere, including here.
And, and, Husband and I have had occasion to ask, “will we ever meet our people here?”
Just as we were wrapping up the sale of the big city house, we got word that a couple had purchased the lots on the other side of ours here at the marsh.
Our remote antennae went straight up. We absolutely could not have that.
With money from the house sale on the way, we reached out and asked if they would consider an offer to sell to us.
Their response shocked us.
It wasn’t that they didn’t even want to hear what price we had in mind. They didn’t.
It wasn’t that they were clear they would not sell under any circumstances. They were.
It was the grace and kindness and the way they replied.
They seem so absolutely lovely.
I tried to think of who they remind me of. Instantly, I knew.
My neighbors on our old street.
Which makes me smile in so many ways.
In anticipation of the
In 2019, Watson was offered an early retirement incentive, aimed at people who had worked enough years to retire with full benefits but hadn’t yet decided to retire. Since Watson was teaching in a difficult to replace subject area, she could request an additional year of teaching before fully retiring. At 63 years old, she had no plans to retire for at least five years.
“When COVID hit, DPS laid off almost all the art, music and PE teachers because they didn’t think we could teach over Zoom,” Watson said.
Watson was offered a position working downtown creating videos designed for remote learning. She didn’t like working by herself, but the thought of full retirement made her apprehensive.
“The closer I was getting to retirement, the more I started panicking,” Watson said. “What I did was who I was.”
In 2021, a friend who knew Watson didn’t want to stop working, sent her an article about the Del Mar Encore Fellows, a program of the Dayton Foundation designed to change the way society views older adults and their ability to contribute to the workforce. Fellows are hired to support local nonprofit organizations that have needs ranging from creating new technology to help low-income adults gain increased access to healthcare to helping decrease low literacy among certain adult populations.
“I applied to help Brunner Literacy Center (BLC) and was accepted,” Watson said. I didn’t know anything about them when I started.”
Watson helped develop a coalition of literacy leaders, put together a reliability study of BLC’s printed materials and spent time in the community marketing the program. Del Mar fellows usually work between 20 – 30 hours weekly and are compensated with a stipend from the Dayton Foundation.
“BLC applied to keep me on for a second year in 2022,” Watson said. “I met with literacy leaders to find out how we could help them, and I set up resource tables aimed at English language learners. “
Watson completed her second year as a fellow and BLC’s Executive Director Myla Cardona-Jones asked her if she was interested in a permanent part time role, doing the same thing as she had done the past two years.
“Joni has made a significant impact on BLC through her outstanding outreach efforts,” Cardona-Jones said. “We are forever indebted to the Del Mar program and to Joni who truly is a gem in the community.”
Today, Watson is working 20 hours a week and couldn’t be happier. She loves building relationships with members of the community and spreading the word about BLC. And she says she can’t imagine slowing down any time soon.
“Retiring can be scary because the future is uncertain,” Watson said. “The Del Mar Fellows program is great because it helps ease you into what’s next. I love what I’m doing.”