What Does Being A Good Neighbor Mean To You?

Here in Michigan we have a reputation in other states for (sure, our accents being so easily recognizable) but for also being pretty polite.

Be it because we are so close to Canada where they are known for saying "soar-y" pretty often or because we are just so darn happy to be here in the Mitten, I would say Michigan is a niceness unlike any other.

Sure, though, like any other place, not everyone is the same and some people here in Michigan are not the nicest, there is a common phrase out there to "love thy neighbor."

However, it seems we have forgotten that.

In the age of social media, your "neighbor" can mean more than just someone who lives next-door, it's anyone on your friends list.

As our idea of a community expands, so should our kindness.

In my own personal experience, being a good neighbor in the physical, traditional sense is all about starting off on the right foot.

I've had neighbors who brought us brownies and invited us over to watch TV any time, I have also had neighbors, though, who borrowed my favorite pancake spatula and even though I said "please get it back to me" I never got it again.

Other neighbors I have had, we've ended up having neighborhood doggie playdates, being kind and saying hello to each other, recognizing our political differences and not defacing anything that shows their beliefs, something that is important to acknowledge as we are in the thick of election season.

Now that my boyfriend and I are in an actual home together and for the first time in years I am not in an apartment building with people all in the same age and phase of life as me, I start to appreciate being neighborly a lot more.

My one neighbor, Steve and his wife, have a beautiful, bountiful garden and have surprise drop-offs of produce.

I've been lucky enough to join a community on our road of people Jordan's family has spent years building relationships with and so we know the importance of being good neighbors.

This is absolutely not to sound preachy, however, sometimes just think of others and how you could be "neighborly" in every sense of the word.

Think of it as a mutual respect, just like there are property lines and that person can do and say whatever they would like (within reason) with it, it's the same as just people being people!