Neighbors

We love our new place. It's so totally what we were looking for--it's actually better because there's a new house on the 10 wooded acres that we didn't have to build ourselves. We're having lots of great experiences--meeting new people, learning new things. Can't wait for winter to be over so that we can get out and plant. Our ward is so awesome.

I had an experience that I'd thought I'd share. I got all the kids bundled up to go for a nature walk. We hadn't all been out of the house yet, usually just me and one kid will go for the walk up the driveway to check the mail. It's just been so cold every single day that we haven't been outside much but I was determined we'd all get out of the house for even 15 minutes.

It was freezing cold and supposed to snow. We got ourselves bundled and I was the last out and shut the door behind me, only to realize (too late) that I had just locked ourselves out of the house. I said, "Kids, I just locked ourselves out of the house!"

"Let's go for our walk anyway!"

I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking to myself. What am I going to do? No car. No phone. No idea even where anyone that I know lives. I don't even know a friend's phone number. Freezing temperature.

Three options: 1. We huddle in the garage all day till Matt comes home (NO GOOD!)
2. We get to a neighbor's house and call someone to come pick us up and we hang out at their house for the day. (Don't even know our friend's phone number).
3. Call Matt and he comes home early so that we can get into the house.

The kids vote to hang out at a friend's house all day. I'm thinking to myself, "I wish I knew where they lived!"

I'm convincing myself not to cry. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. Don't panic. Say a prayer. Just don't cry.

We walk up the road to our nearest neighbor's house. The bundled up 2-year-old is having a hard time managing the uphill walk in the freezing cold. I'm trying to keep cool. Abby is terrified of going onto our neighbor's property when we don't know them yet. I knock and knock and no one answers. Shoot.

We walk on. I remember seeing a driveway further down the road that is secluded like ours. I don't know where it leads but when we get there, we turn on it and hope that this neighbor is at home. Again, the kids are uncomfortable on someone else's property. Well, I am too, but there wasn't really a choice, was there?

We live on a seriously quiet street. I wouldn't expect a car to come down it for hours.

I knock on the door of the log cabin. Yes, someone is home. I hear him shushing his dogs. The moment he opens the door, I start crying. The tears are just streaming down my face and I hear myself saying, "I'm sorry. I'm crying because I'm so stressed out. I locked myself out of the house and I'm your new neighbor and I don't know what to do." Can we say pathetic?

He's totally cool and nice. The kids have a great time playing with the dogs while I call Matt (can't get ahold of him) and leave him a message. "Hon, I'm locked out of the house and I don't know what to do!"

Thankfully, our neighbor, Leonard, knows of another neighbor who can open car locks (he's a mechanic). He calls him up and soon Mitch is over with his pickup and we all pile into the back of the truck and ride back to the house (that was the fun part).

He pulls out his tools and starts trying them out on the house. Meanwhile, Leonard is checking the windows and finds one unlocked and we open it! Hooray! We are back inside. Talk about relief. I was so thankful for my house that day!

Lesson learned: Living in the country means neighbors help you and drop what they're doing so that you stop crying in their living room! I needn't feel stressed about the isolation. I discovered that neighbors here are neighborly!

PS: I told the story to a couple of people in our ward and they just laughed at me. "I don't even know where the keys are to my house!" they replied. Apparently, not everyone locks their doors. Oh yeah. We live in the boonies now. "Actually," one friend replied, "A farmer told me once that you want to leave your truck or car unlocked and leave the keys in the ignition. You never know when your friend might urgently need it!"

So there you go. A new paradigm. A friendly place to live. I don't have to be worried about that anymore. Living in the country lesson #1 learned.

(If this post has mistakes, it's because I don't have time to edit it. Please forgive me. And I'm practically NEVER on the internet so these posts will have to be few and far between.)