the banana project.
(read the back story or scroll down to the give away)
i’ve always dreamed of having neighbors.
the kind where you can run next door and borrow a cup of flour. already, some of you are thanking your lucky stars that i’m not your neighbor. trust me, if you are thinking this then i probably wouldn’t want you to be my neighbor either. fair. moving on. since moving onto our lovely street lined with lampposts (yes! lampposts!) i’ve noticed a few interesting things. the people. there is mrs. haynal on one side. she has lived in her home since 1968, raised all of her kids there and now lives widowed and resilient as ever. then to our left there is Bob, the electrician, and his wife jodi, who bring us tangelos. Mike, who owns a carpet cleaning company loves mountain dew and poker lives up the street, and Rick, the Catholic father to 8, lives down the street. Dick (and I can’t ever remember his wife’s name) live across the street with a backyard that goes on for miles. And lindsey and paul are to their left with the 9 month old twins. lindsey sleeps, never. i see her out my window pushing those twins in the stroller every morning and every afternoon. we smile, wave and our tired eyes connect, that eye contact says it all. we nod and we know the feeling is mutual. i think with every wave we are secretly saying, “hang in there, you can do it, only a few more hours till your husband comes home, i didn’t sleep last night either and pushing this stroller feels like hell but only a few more pounds to lose till i fit back in those jeans, don’t worry about that baby spit up on your shoulder i don’t think anyone else sees it, you’re doing great, be strong, i see your kids watching tv everyday and i don’t judge you, one day we will have an uninterrupted conversation, i love your roses, etc.”
anyway, lindsey is one of those neighbors i’ve always dreamed of. she brings me her leftover Easter rolls, and i give her flowers, she runs over for a stamp and i pick her oranges. she dropped by yesterday to witness a lovely tantrum from my compassionate 2 year old whose melt down began over not having any bananas. right, because everyone needs to kick and scream over not having bananas. i’m taking crazy pills here people. so today i came home to find bananas dangling on my front door welcome sign.
love your neighbor as yourself. i wonder how i’m doing at this. i know that i have lots of good ideas on how i could love my neighbors, those i live next to and those in my heart, but then i look at my pocketbook and my ideas stay a nice little fantasy. i know in the past two weeks a stranger has left us a card full of cash on our windshield with a note attached saying, “spend on your family,” a dear friend volunteered her time to watch noelle so i can have some much needed time with just my two-year-old, and today, the bananas on my doorstep. my neighbors are loving me so well and i am feeling so loved.
…GIVE-AWAY…
here is the deal. i want to help one of you love your neighbors well. i have a friend whose laundry detergent always gets stolen at their apartment shared laundry mat. what if they could spend $75 on laundry detergent that they could leave in the shared space with a note, “for anyone short on change, help yourself…” i mean, really! or if you bought $75 worth of flowers and left them at your neighbors doorstep! how ridiculous and awesome would that be! or paid for the meal of family sitting next to you at a restaurant that you didn’t know? or bought groceries for the person behind you at vons? or gave your neighbor a gas card, a gift card to anthropologie, or bought them a ticket to Disneyland?!?! what could you do today to love, encourage, or bless your neighbors? what if i said all you have to do is leave a comment:
1) with the name of a neighbor (you live next to, friend, or stranger)
2) how would you use $75 to love that neighbor
you don’t even have to re-post my blog a million times! it is that easy! friday at noon not 1, but 4 people (i received a $225 donation towards the project today!!!!) will randomly be picked and i’ll mail you a $75 master card so you can love your neighbor.
i’m going bananas for the ‘banana project!’ seriously, i’m so excited and a tad corny, i know! i can’t wait to read your ideas and be inspired.
and now… a few pictures of my little obsessions…
by anjuli
show 39 comments