Ode to our 'hood

I've mentioned our neighbors once or twice, haven't I?

Trust me when I say that I know our relationship with them is not the norm.

We are lucky.  Very, very lucky.

From the moment we arrived in Portland we have felt completely welcomed by everyone we've met.  It was almost as if we were long lost friends and they had been anticipating our arrival.  Seriously- excitement, hospitality, welcoming.  It was a bit shocking yet completely marvelous.  Multiple neighbors rang our doorbell on the very first day we were here, offering assistance and kind words.

Their care for us has only grown, of course.  They (4 households besides ourselves) get together quite often to eat dinner together, potluck-style.  We celebrate birthdays, holidays, and achievements together.  We also spend "one-on-one" time together with many of them multiple times a week.  We watch sports on TV, they welcome us in so Owen can play with their toys, we swap kids, we go to coffee, or we just go over to say "hi" and end up being invited in for hours.

They have cared for us when we were sick or grieving, and vice versa.

I can't even begin to count the boxes and boxes of free stuff (clothes for Owen, televisions (yes, TVs), books, toys, furniture, etc) that they have given us.  We try to return the favors, though we don't feel pressure for anything but a "thank you".

We're honored to have been welcomed into this close-knit community.  I can see why some people would shy away from an arrangement like this- some people like privacy more than we do.  I have to admit that there are days when I hope nobody comes and knocks on my door because I'm too tired, too frazzled, or too busy... but most of the time we don't mind at all.

We've thought often of moving to a more spacious place (sometimes our little two-bedroom seems like it doesn't have anymore growing room) but we immediately become aware of what we'd be giving up.  Suffice it to say, we're staying here just as long as everyone else does.  We just cannot leave our neighbors- what we have is too rare and too special.  Simply, we would miss them too much.  So we'll stay here no matter how much stuff or how many people/pets we have to cram into it.  No joke.

I think it goes without saying that we feel very lucky to have this family dynamic since we are so far from our biological families.  When we moved we talked a lot about wanting to give Owen those types of close, familial relationships- especially cross-generational ones.  Ask and you shall receive, right?

I want to note that we don't feel like these relationships have replaced any biological ones, but rather supplement them quite nicely.  We feel loved, cared for, and supported though we are 2700 miles from where we grew up.  Kraig and I especially appreciate that Owen gets to experience all of this love and support.  Family is what you make it, after all, so we are intentional about letting Owen call our close friends his "aunts" and "uncles".  Sure, we'll have to tell him that most of those people aren't related to us, but I don't think he'll mind.  The more people that love him, the better.

As we are approaching our 9-month anniversary of being in Portland (can you believe it?!), I'd have to say the thing we are most thankful for is our neighbors who act as our family.  We are so blessed.