Our Next Door Neighbors

Our next door neighbors are also from North Dakota, which is a terrific thing.  Their youngest child just graduated, and they are on the precipice of becoming empty nesters.  Yesterday afternoon, I looked out my kitchen window and saw the two of them relaxing on their hammock in their gorgeous yard that I have all the benefit of looking at and none of the work of taking care of.  (It’s too bad they don’t have such a great view looking in my direction!)

I thought to myself, What a great thing!  They look so peaceful, taking a little bit of time to spend together on a holiday afternoon, with no interruptions at all.  Then I drug my kicking and screaming toddler upstairs for yet another battle of a diaper change.  After I had cleaned him up and got him settled back into his clothes and washed my hands and taken care of that diaper, I came back down the stairs.  And looked out the window.

My neighbors were still in their hammock, their dogs wagging their tails, and The Banana was nestled in right between them on the hammock.  Oh, yes, that’s my people-starved girl, ready to make conversation wherever she can and excited to get close to those two golden retrievers.

So much for the uninterrupted empty-nesters.  It’s a good thing they really like kids and really have a lot of patience with the noisy crew to the south.  At least when our neighbors are feeling kid-deprived and lonely in the fall, they will know where to go!