Some calendars list September 28th as National Good Neighbor Day, don’t ask me how I remember these crazy sorts of things, I just do. But to be quite honest, there is no reason as to why you shouldn’t reach out and just be neighborly year round.
NATIONAL GOOD NEIGHBOR DAY HISTORY (source of history found here.)
National Good Neighbor Day was created in the early 1970′s by Becky Mattson of Lakeside, Montana. In 1978 United States President Jimmy Carter <---(PS: Love the Carters! Habitat For Humanity, National Good Neighbor Day…I could seriously just squeeze his sweet elderly cheeks) issued Proclamation 4601:
“As our Nation struggles to build friendship among the people’s of this world, we are mindful that the noblest human concern is concern for others. Understanding, love, and respect build cohesive families and communities. The same bonds cement our Nation, and the nations of the world. For most of us, this sense of community is nurtured and expressed in our neighborhoods where we give each other an opportunity to share and feel part of a larger family…I call upon the people of the United States and interested groups and organizations to observe such day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen that we recently moved. It’s just a few miles down the road, but it’s a move. I cannot say this enough, everyone is super neighborly here! Hello’s in the parking garage, hello’s on the elevator, hello’s as we leave for a stroll on our evening walks, hello’s from the gate-guards as they walk around checking on parking and such. It’s just nice! It’s crazy to think we’ve been in Korea a combined 4 years and up until recently we never experienced this. To be fair our old place we went weeks without catching the same elevator ride with someone in our building, or I’d like to believe they’d be more neighborly too?
Completely coincidentally I woke up Sunday morning to some news about my new neighbor and her daughter. I instantly wanted to do something little to brighten their day after the horrific night they had. I immediately thought about the beautiful little hand-tied flower arrangement I made and put into a vase in our entry. Why not share the power of something cheery like a dainty wild sunflower and greens with written words of encouragement. To me it’s those little random acts of kindness that gets us all through tough times, don’t you agree?
So here I am blogging on celebrating National Good Neighbor Day! Why not do something nice for your neighbor today too? I’d love to hear your thoughts and maybe some things you did or might do for your neighbors.
