The Neighbors

We had not even finished unpacking the
moving truck before we met the first
neighbor. He was a thin boy with blue
eyes and he said his name was J.T.

His bus stopped at the end of our
driveway. He got off and stayed to
chat.

Being a Mom and knowing that I didn't
really like my kids spending time with
total strangers I suggested that he might
want to check in with his Mom and let her
know he was ok.

But, JT wasn't concerned.
His Mom would be just fine.

Over the years JT has spent a lot of
time with our boys. He continues to
feel right at home.
Although there were
those mornings last summer when I tutored
him a little bit that I think he would rather
have remained in his comfy bed.
Ahhh...the life of a teenager.

But this post is only barely about him.
His contribution was merely blasting
(Think Kramer in Seinfeld) in the
door and asking if I wanted to meet his
Mom outside to hang out for a while.

Now, this was over the weekend when I was
sick, sick, sick. But I thought to myself
that I could choose between sitting on the
couch and watching more news about
oceanic oil slicks
or I could sit on the back porch and enjoy
some time with a neighbor.

I chose that.

Now understand that when Ellen shows up anywhere
she is never alone.
Ellen and Jim have five boys.
Five very busy boys.

J.T. is the oldest.

These are the boys I referred to in my
post about climbing the tree.
The bus stop is still our driveway.
The irony...home educators with a bus
stop literally at our door.

Anyway, Ellen and I got to talking about that post.
She had seen it and knew I was referring to
her boys as the ones I often see up in the
tree...
one thing led to another.

The boys wanted their pictures taken.
They wanted to be on the blog.

Well, who was I to burst their bubble?
Really!

So...we had fun.

Meet Dalton!
Next to the Youngest.



Just look at that face!
He makes me smile.





Next is Logan.
His looks are changing so fast.
He used to have such a baby face.






What a very kind and loving
boy, this one.



Next oldest is Garrett.
A very thoughtful young man.

This one is known to ask a lot
of questions. Just ask Warren.
He can tell you about the many times
he was joined in our garage and questioned
about this or that by this inquisitive one.







They have already decided that this is
where they want their senior pictures
taken. Funny.
I'll not hold them to that.

You may have counted three boys here...
and then if you add in J.T. who was busy with our boys
while all of this was going on.
That leaves one of the five...The youngest.
Ty.
He could not yet climb the tree but wanted me to
see him kick a ball....oh and just seeing him wasn't enough.
He wanted his picture taken too.

Meet Ty.





As soon as Ty kicked this ball...his older
brother Dalton stepped in. This sent Ty
from beaming to sadness. Poor buddy.



Ellen and I decided on Saturday,
as we sat and chatted, that living
in a neighborhood where we know each
other is a very good thing. Parents
watch out for all of the kids,
we know who is coming and going.
It is a very good thing, indeed.

I hope you enjoyed meeting
"The Neighbors".