These days it is so easy to not know your neighbors. Life is busy and full. And we… like everyone else… always seem to be on the go. Growing up in a small town in Idaho, we couldn’t help but know all our neighbors. We asked for cups of flour when we ran out, said hi as we came and went, played street games and got reprimanded by the neighbor’s parents if we got out of line. Now… with a garage and an opener in our car, we don’t really even have to talk to anyone when we get home and when we go out anymore if we don’t want to. And Amazon Prime makes it way too easy to just order more of what we need ourselves instead of trying to rely on those around us. While we have padded our lives and homes with so many conveniences, culturally we have (intentionally or not) cut these meaningful community relationships out of our lives.
Maybe it’s the small-town girl in me… or maybe I’m just nosy… but I’d love to turn back the clock and invest a little bit more. I want to know the people who live around us. I love running into someone I know at the grocery store and hearing about how their college kids are surviving. I want to dive back into that "it takes a village" concept of being neighborly.
So bring on the crazy! For about 9 years (maybe one or two lapses in between), we’ve taken to hosting a chili cook-off on Halloween for our neighborhood friends. To be honest, I stole this idea from my cousin who took me in during my own college years and showed me that true community is often built around a kitchen island with warm food and possibly an inordinate amount of carameled popcorn.
And while Michael like to spin tales about how I tend to overdo things (which I certainly don’t 😉), it doesn’t take too much effort to make this tradition happen every year. I typically make our pot of chili the day before so that the flavors blend together better (yum!) and make sure to add extra cider and hot cocoa to my grocery list. Just a little planning ahead on my part and we set ourselves and our neighbors up for fun new memories!
We’re looking forward to celebrating tonight just like we have done in years past! I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween night and that you make memories with those people you love!
Do you have any annual traditions with neighbors?
