I met my husband on a blind date 22 years before I became blind. If he was not right for me, I could have never seen him again. I had to find a new dentist when mine retired. If I didn’t like the new one I chose, I could move on to another in the field. When my color blind husband and his legally blind wife (me) picked a paint color for our sunroom and a friend told me what it really looked like, we found a different shade of green. All of these things were within my control to change. Just like with the shake of my iPhone, many things in life can be undone.
And then a FOR SALE sign is hammered into my next-door neighbor’s front lawn. This particular home sits very close to mine so this turn of events was extremely concerning. In the 33 years that my husband and I have lived in our house, up until five years ago, a wonderful couple resided beside us. When they moved, we lucked out with a single gal taking their place. What were the chances that other respectful, quiet people, who would also take care of the property, would purchase the home? Of course, if things should go terribly wrong we always have the option to leave, but no one wants to be driven out by a neighbor’s bad behavior.
On the Saturday that an open house was held, Mister Rain delayed his weekly grocery shopping in order to stay home and do his best Mrs. Kravitz impersonation. (Google it, kids.) We have since installed security cameras but on this day we kicked it old school, with my husband sitting off to the side by the window, reporting on every new arrival. I demanded detailed descriptions: how many people in each car, what age, did they look nice? Use your words, Mister Rain! He counted 40 different groups that came to look at the house. His theory was if they walked around the side of the residence, they were seriously interested. Those who went directly to their cars were not.
A few days later we learned that a young, single man’s offer had been accepted. His mom had accompanied him both times that he toured the home. That had to be a good sign, didn’t it?
When our now old neighbor left without saying goodbye, it only solidified that we don’t need someone to be our best friend, we just want peace.
My husband met our new neighbor on the day of his closing, and one of the first things he said to Mister Rain was, “I am not going to be a problem for you.” His mom was with him again, which I kind of love.
Since then we have been to each other’s houses to look around and get to know each other a bit. We were able to answer his questions about the ‘hood and its history, extending an open-ended offer to him should he want to know anything else. He has not moved in yet but he has been there every day working on the home. Though it is early days, it feels really good.
It appears that we may have won big in the game of New Neighbor Roulette. As with everything in life, you have to know when to walk away, you have to know when to run. It looks like we are going to stay.
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