Hello! I'm your neighbor.

When I was single I lived in some seriously questionable places by myself. There was the old house that had been converted to apartments. I had the studio in the back and loved it. You know, except for the pot smoking neighbors I had that gave my apartment an iffy smell. There was the amazing historic building in the middle of downtown. I lived in a studio there, then moved to a one bedroom. I seriously, seriously loved that place. Except that it took 3 jobs to pay for it. And it had this creepy elevator made of mirrors. And each time I got in with a long time resident of the building, they would tell me wild stories about the elevator. After a really colorful tale, I decided to take the stairs up 6 flights. There was the tiny little bungalow with the single mom next door and sweet little yards behind each place. I loved that place, too. Until an ex-boyfriend began to try to scare me by hiding scarecrows outside my door at night and knocking on all of the windows and doors. And, you know, I had to call a friend to come over every time I did laundry since I had to go outside and down into a creepy basement (at night since I worked all of the time). Anyway. A few questionable places. But, I felt safe (mostly) and was determined to be a good neighbor. I think I just became the crazy one. A downtown building full of partyers is hardly the place to bake cookies for the new couple across the hall. They avoided me after I told them they could borrow sugar anytime. Perhaps they thought there was a double meaning behind sugar? Anyway... Since I've had Little Miss Sass and been home most of the time, I've hidden myself away in my house and not been very neighborly. I'm determined to get out there and change that. Every Christmas the girls and I walk around our block delivering caramels to everyone on our street. After the first year, folks stopped answering their doors. We just leave the caramel on the doorstep and back away slowly. Hello! I'm your neighbor. One sweet couple that we've recently met did return the gesture and brought us some homemade chocolate sauce and ice cream. (Yuuuummmm!!!) I almost answered the door while nursing because I thought it was Mr at the door. Oops! Instead, I quickly put myself back together and held Boo in front of the wet spots on my shirt. That worked until the gal wanted to hold her. Ehhhh.... Hello! I'm your neighbor. We do talk quite a bit with the family right next to us. They are incredibly sweet and we really love them. The older girls are big enough to play out back alone, and we've had a really nice week here. I've been sending them out back and checking on them throughout their play. Yesterday I heard LM Sass talking to the neighbor through his fence and I peeked out to make sure she was letting him go about his business. We exchanged pleasantries and I went back inside. And caught a glance of myself in the mirror. It was early and I hadn't had a chance to shower. My hair was pulled back and I thought my bangs were clipped back. Nope. Sticking straight up in the air. No wonder he wouldn't make eye contact. Later after I'd had a chance to shower, the doorbell rang and it was the neighbor letting me know he put fertilizer on our lawn (so nice, right?!) He was incredibly uncomfortable and I couldn't figure out why. Hmmmm...could be that I answered the door with sopping wet hair and a nursing tank? Oops. Hello! I'm your neighbor. Ah well. Such is life. Can't wait to see what looks I get when I start riding this around with my 3 little darlings. (I am so excited for this to arrive! I have been approved to be an ambassador for this bike in our area! Woohoo!!) Stay tuned for next time when I confess all of my "Hello! I'm your customer." Moments. eek.