{"id":4385,"date":"2016-11-07T00:02:59","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T07:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mops.org\/?p=4385"},"modified":"2016-11-07T00:02:59","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T07:02:59","slug":"good-neighboring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themom.co\/fr\/good-neighboring\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Good Neighboring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJunior! Junior! Junior!\u201d<\/p>\n

A few years ago, I heard my 5-year-old son Lincoln standing on the driveway yelling \u201cJunior\u201d at the top of his lungs. Naturally, I was terrified something was wrong so I ran outside to check on him. To my surprise, he was totally fine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuddy, why in the world are you out here yelling \u2018Junior\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m yelling to my friend. I want him to come over and play.\u201d<\/p>\n

I figured \u201cJunior\u201d must be an imaginary friend. But sure enough, this little kid came walking down the block towards our house. \u201cIs that Junior?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Lincoln shrugged his shoulders, \u201cWell, I don\u2019t actually know his name. I just call him Junior.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Junior and Lincoln started to play sidewalk chalk together, I quickly realized the reason my son didn\u2019t know his name. Junior didn\u2019t speak English and Lincoln didn\u2019t know any Spanish. However, despite the vast language barrier, a fast friendship had formed. For the past two years Junior, whose name we discovered is actually Eduardo, and Lincoln have played together nearly every single day.<\/p>\n

Just last week, we were in the middle of eating dinner and something caught my eye outside. I looked out the back door and screamed, then immediately burst into giggles. Eduardo was standing on the back porch, nose smashed against the door, grinning from ear to ear, waiting for Lincoln to finish eating so they could play on the swing set.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Eduardo\u2019s mom and I have tried to communicate with each other. We are both trying to learn the other\u2019s language, but in the meantime, my rusty high school Spanish is all I\u2019ve got. Her English is the same. Mostly, we just kind of smile and wave and laugh at the boys as they interact through a child\u2019s first language \u2013 play. Hot Wheels, basketball and shared snacks have become their form of communication. After a few months of playing together, Lincoln learned how to say, \u201cHola amigo!\u201d Eduardo learned to say, \u201cHi. How are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazingly, our school district offers a dual-language program. While Lincoln just began his second year of Spanish, Eduardo is learning English. At times, Eduardo\u2019s mom has saved me when I needed help with Spanish homework. And we\u2019ve helped Eduardo\u2019s sister with reports for school.<\/p>\n

These two boys are constantly in and out of each other\u2019s homes and lives. They have become best friends. Recently, I was putting Lincoln to bed and he said, \u201cMom, you know what? I love Lalo (Eduardo\u2019s nickname). He\u2019s like my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can give you lists of ideas for being a good neighbor (see below). You can perform random acts of kindness, deliver meals, mow lawns, help with babysitting, assist with yard work, etc. But at the end of the day, I have learned more about the art of good neighboring from my son and his best friend than from any article on Pinterest.<\/p>\n

To be a good neighbor is to become childlike. It is a posture. Despite racial, social, religious, political \u2013 and in the boys\u2019 case \u2013 language barriers, good neighboring is a willingness to see our neighbors as people who are created in the image of God. Therefore, we will treat them like our brothers, sisters, daughters and sons, like our friends.<\/p>\n

I know there are challenges. The world feels dark at times. Sadly, we know too well the reality of bad or even scary neighbors. We want to protect our families and we have grown wary. But this is my challenge to you: Shine a little light in the darkness.<\/p>\n

Put the barriers down this week and become like Lalo and Lincoln. Cross the street. Cross the office. Cross the living room floor. (Sometimes we need to be good neighbors to those closest to us, don\u2019t we?) Heck, yell to your neighbors at the top of your lungs to come over and play. You never know what beautiful friendships might form.<\/p>\n

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A Few Ways to Engage Your Neighbors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New York Times recently reported that \u201conly about 20 percent of Americans say they spend time with their neighbors, and nearly a third of the population reports no interaction whatsoever with the people who live nearby. That\u2019s a flip-flop of the way things were back in the 1970s, when nearly 30 percent of Americans reported hanging out with their neighbors at least twice a week.\u201d [i]<\/sup><\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

What do we do to change those statistics? The following are a few easy ways to engage your neighbors:<\/p>\n