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
lovely people who are on their way and mostly, how just sometimes the world, the universe, God, whatever you believe, has a way of saving you from yourself.
I was so busy being sad about what I was leaving behind, pushing to make us more isolated, that I almost missed the huge gift being delivered literally to my front door.
The very thing I was longing for--great neighbors.
Looks like my streak is
about to continue.
Daryn Kagan is the author of the book“hope Possible: A Network News Anchor’s Thoughts On Losing Her Job, Finding Love, A New Career, And My Dog, Always My Dog”and Executive Director of the Just One More Foundation. Email her at Daryn@darynkagan.com.