Sunday, September 13, 2009

neighbors...


Today Nathan and I enjoyed sleeping in! We enjoyed a long walk on the trail by Nathan's house, it was perfect weather. My big mission today was to bake cookies for Nathan's neighbor that I met last week, Dick. He is 79 years old and has lived down the street since 1954. When I met him last week while he was walking his dog Becka, he told me that he had lost his wife of 60 years 8 mos. ago. He lives alone now, and I thought he could use some company and some cookies! Nathan and I walked down to his house & I introduced Nathan.

He asked us to stay for a beer & came out with 3 Bud Lites & pictures of his family and late wife. We sat in his yard right on Lake Minnetonka and heard many stories about his life: living through a tornado that lifted his house off the ground & destroyed it, installing the controllers in the Twin Towers when they were built, buying a hardware store, sailing the ocean, etc. He was such a sweet man & I know he appreciated company. He was so dedicated to his wife, refusing to allow her to be sent to a retirement home, retiring from his job to take care of her until her last days. It made me feel like devotion to those we love in our lives is what makes them worth living, enjoying, and remembering.

He invited us to go sailing on his boat before winter starts & I hope to take him up on that!

We also met Nathan's brand new next door neighbors, Julie, Charlie and Campbell. He has such a friendly neighborhood (just like mine!), we are so lucky. Having people who care about you close is so important to feeling truly 'at home' & it seems like so many neighborhoods don't communicate anymore.

1 comment:

  1. That is so cute! You are such a sweet person, You probably have no idea how much you made that man's day!

    ReplyDelete

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