Monday, August 26, 2013

I love my neighbourhood...

I live in one of the best neighbourhoods around. Surrounded by nature trails and lots of green space in the back we often have coyotes howling in the distance and deer coming up to our fence. Turtles, bunnies, snakes, blue heron and a few species of eagles and owls surround us every day. But the nature is not the only attribute that makes this neighbourhood awesome. It's our neighbours.



Above is the picture of our closest neighbors. It's not the best quality, but I'm in there too:) This week I submitted an article to our local paper about a BBQ we had a week ago.   Here is and I hope you enjoy:

We know each other by first names and close each other’s garage doors at night. I can borrow a cup of sugar or teaspoon of baking powder when I run out. If an alarm goes off at someone’s house and the police arrive, the word spreads quicker than fire. Speaking of fire, when a bunch of kids set off fireworks in the back setting our green space ablaze, I knew within seconds, even though I wasn’t home. How? Through one of our BBM Groups.

The dads play soccer and softball during the year. They have their ‘Porter’ team t-shirts and commit to winning every week, even if sometimes it’s not so easy. The moms get together for drinks, dinner and chit-chat at a local restaurant. We gossip through blackberry messages about the Bachelor, latest coupons and sales offers, and warn one another when someone’s door-knocking.
That’s what living on Porter Crescent in Hespeler is like. That friendly old style neighborhood where everyone knows one another by their and their kids first names. On August 17th we celebrated our second annual Porter barbeque. The day began with a round of golf played by the Porter dads at seven in the morning. In the afternoon, we had a daddy race where the dads displayed their cavemen running abilities. Over seventy of our closest neighbours, including kids, attended. From burgers and hot dogs, to salads and cakes, everyone chipped in to make a delicious supper. Highlight of the night: roasted chicken in a home-made rotisserie, right on the driveway. Two bouncy castles, basketball nets and fooling around with their neighbouring friends kept the kids occupied. The spectacular afternoon was followed by a fireworks show and finger-licking marshmallows by the fire pit.
 
           One of our biggest fears is someone leaving the neighbourhood. Due to work and life, one family is actually moving out at the end of August. We’re sad to see a household leave our Porter family, because that’s what it truly feels like: a family. But we’ll welcome our new neighbours with open arms, because that’s what families do. And that’s what makes Porterville so special.


What do you like about your neighbourhood? Want to be my neighbour :) ?

3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sounds like a great neighborhood. Those are so rare anymore. I know most of my immediate neighbors, but we never get together as a group.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

very cool neighbourhood. In my neighbourhood, we hardly know each other.

Michelle (A Thousand Lives Lived) said...

Having you as a neighbour would be fantastic, I think that I'm going to have to move! :)