We lived in Winder while Whitney was in middle and high school. I was working from home most of those years,
and the flexibility of my job made it possible to be an involved Band Mom, and
make sure that she was where she needed to be.
It was a quiet little neighborhood, and I had dear friends across the
street from me. We watched out for each
other, and traded chores whenever needed.
They later moved away, which broke my heart. There was nobody else in
the neighborhood that I befriended, and it was pretty lonely after that.
Shortly after Whitney left for college, I decided to move
back to Statham. My parents are here, my
BFF is here, my church is here, and my crafting friends are here. I was very fortunate that my house in Winder
sold quickly, and I was able to purchase a home in Statham. I bought the house from my good friends, the
Johnsons, who had raised their kids here in The Hood.
When I moved in, I inherited the most awesome
neighbors!! I still missed my friends
from Winder, but was so happy to have been accepted into the family of
neighbors here in The Hood. Most of the
families on my street have lived here for years and years, and they know each
other well. Some of them ride around in
golf carts, keeping a close eye on anything that might seem to be amiss. On any given evening, it’s not unusual to see
a convoy of golf carts going by, or see a group of them stopped in the driveway
of another neighbor for a visit. I don’t
get out and socialize with them as often as I would like, but it is very
comforting to know that there are at least six or seven Boyz In The Hood that I
can call on if I need a guy to help me do things. My BFF is at the end of the street, and her
husband is like my brother. One July 4th
morning I woke him up before daylight screaming for him to come down here,
something exploded in my house and I thought it was on fire. He was here in a flash – and after finally
convincing me the house was not on fire, and not to call 911, his diagnosis was
that a squirrel had chewed through one of the power lines coming to my house. This was
later confirmed by the Georgia Power guy, who worked for hours in a pouring
rain to get it fixed.
My dear neighbors Arti and Tammy have been so good about
mowing my lawn. I can never thank them
enough. One summer I had a bad foot and
they kept it cut for me the whole season. They are awesome! One time we needed to move a wooden playscape
down the street. All the guys gathered
in my back yard and after much planning and conspiring, they loaded it onto
David’s flatbed truck, and safely transported it three doors down to the Melton
home. The guys followed on their golf
carts, and helped to unload it and shore it up for safe playing.
I’m always bragging about my great neighbors on Facebook. I’m
so very thankful for my life here. It’s
a wonderful place to be, and I am so blessed to be surrounded by The Boyz (and
girlz) In The Hood!!
