Short Story of My Next Door Neighbor

I recently got downvoted likely for my daily random posts of Splinterlands. I know talking about Splinterlands daily is likely a red flag but I play the game daily and have dedicated years of my life towards it. But I understand there is more to it to Splinterlands on Hive so once in a while I’ll post some personal blogs that I like to archive for my kids to see. I think it’s the least I can to do make amends with the top dogs on Hive, hopefully…

The topic I like to talk about is my recent nextdoor neighbor passing. I have been thinking of her more often than expected after hearing news of her passing about a month ago. I was glad that she died peacefully in her home. This post is me reflecting of my time spent with my neighbor and what she taught me about life.

I don’t want to give out any real personal info but want write enough to be it identifieable to those closests to me to know whom I’m talking about and share what experiences I had with her. Let’s call my neighbor Susan.

I was raised by my biological parents for nearly a deacade before I had to move to live with foster parents. It was during this time I met my next door neighbor. Back then she was in her late forties and very talkative. I wasn’t close to my foster parents but Susan became a good friend to talk to when ever I needed adult advice.

Back when we first met she taught me about how people naturally love to know how their neighbors are doing. That is because we love to compare our lives with others. Simply put we call it keeping up with the Jones.

Susan advised me to get a dog so that it would force me to walk out and around the neighborhood daily. In turn it forced me to meet people near where I lived as it become commonplace to accidentally start small talk with people. Having a dog is easy to startup a conversation.

With that very simple advice I have learned so much about my neighbors without having to feel awkward as I am a natural introvert. Susan knew and she figured it out just because she was a good neighbor. She was wise beyond her years as she was very observant at figuring out people just by watching them coming and going.

In my early teens I started working to earn enough to rent a place in the same city as Susan. Then in my late 20s I was able to put a down payment on a condo. I was then not exactly next door to Susan but close walking distance to her home.

In those years I remember times where I felt depressed and had struggles like any other young adult would have. Back then I didn’t have much and needed to put in a lot effort to get through community school. Susan was there in my graduation so it’s easy to understand how much she influenced my life.

She was a great role model. Also did what she could to get by as a single lady and never outright ask for any help. Yet she taught me certain polite ways to ask for help and specific kind of help ;)

For instance she talks about her going to Church every Sunday so that she can meet people with specific skill sets. The Church priest knew she was living alone and would always request men who were apart of the congregation to help Susan on outdoor chores such as shoveling snow in winter and mowing the lawn in summer. To this day I still remember Susan saying “What is better than a husband? A church filled with willing and able men to help me do all my outdoor chores without returning any favors.” Of course it wasn’t as simple as that as Susan said she donates to the church weekly. But overall well worth the investment lol.

Susan was from the silent generation. Proud but quiet. She did what she needed to live a comfortable life and always lend a hand when ever asked of her. Yet she would never ask for any favors in return. In fact since I have been reflecting of her and my past encounters together there wasn’t one time I remember her asking me for anything. Instead she more often asked about how life was treating me and always giving good advice whenever I asked. Yet she never asked for anything in return.

That leads me to a sad point I regret for not realized in the last year when we were still meeting. I didn’t seem her as often in recent years but still at least once a month. This past year I never fully heard about her car accident that got her license revoked.

I remember she mentioned she was in a minor car accident and said she was not physically injured. Furthermore confirmed the car run fine as there was no noticeable damage. Yet she never mentioned her license was revoked. I only learned about it after she passed away from a blood related relative that Susan had been walking to run basic errands for almost the past year. Errands such as buying groceries or going to Sunday Mass.

For the past year Susan never told me the full story about the accident and it was only when you was gone did I learn the full story. I guess I never was smart enough to pick up Susan’s tactful observations skills of interpreting people.

Susan passed away nearly a month ago. It was a little over 40 years ago that we first met. I think of her as family and am very grateful to have know her. In recent days when I think about her I end up feeling grateful for where I am today and what I have today. Without her I do not know where I would be today.

Thank you Susan for the memories you given me. There are no words I can express to equate to how much you meant to me.

(Front cover is from Shutterstock photos.)