Neighborly lessons

Fair warning, part of this story is not for the squeamish.

My doorbell rang at about 5pm. Elyse had just awoken from a late afternoon nap so I answered the door baby in tow. My frantic neighbor said, "Ursula please come help us, I'll hold the baby but you have to come help us." Her husband had gotten a fishing hook caught in his forearm and knowing I was a nurse they thought I could help. I might be a nurse but I don't do "traumatic" things. Torn skin, scraped or ripped flesh....it all gives me the willies. Give me a scheduled C-section in a controlled environment with sterile supplies and I'm golden, but as far as emergency room situations I'm useless and get chills through my entire body which is surprising to some but true. I told her I wasn't sure what I could do and after one glance at the hook in his arm I knew I would be of no use. The 3 of us then turned to our other neighbor who is a fisherman. He pulled tugged on it with some pliers and after a few twists and yanks it unwillingly came out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The point of my story is neighbors. I've only gotten to know them better since I've been home with Elyse and I'm so thankful I have. Friendly hellos, casual conversation, it's been nice. Today I learned something more though. After the hook was removed and the injured couple went back home to get in cleaned and bandaged, we had some small talk and the other couple invited Elyse and I to have a drink and put our feet in their pool. They're an older, retired couple with 2 grown children and 4 grandchildren along with 2 little peppy white dogs that Elyse just adores. We have spoken in driveways, lawns, and streets several times but this was a first. We took them up on the offer, they poured me a drink and walked me through their home to the pool.

Their home was very nice and their pool was gorgeous. We sipped our drinks and watched as a raccoon and cardinal snuck food from a bird feeder. We had a lovely conversation of kids, plants, and spouses. Elyse crawled after the dogs and the sun put just an extra bit of glimmer on the leaves as it began its slow descent for the day. Inside generations of pictures hung on the walls and the house just felt like a grandparents should, it just had that feel, I can't really explain it. It was clean but it wasn't tidy. There were half finished projects on the counters, dishes in the sink, and pictures waiting to be hung along the floorboards. Mail was strewn about and throw blankets rested disheveled on the couch. It reminded me a lot of how my house looks most of the time. I like things to be as close to perfect as possible before we have guests. I even like unseen things like laundry to be done if I can and I never invite people in on a whim. Today taught me that I should. Everyone knows that we don't keep a perfect house all of the time but for some reason I don't like it to be blatantly known. If they'd had the same concern we wouldn't have enjoyed that late afternoon time together and allowed the relationship to get that much closer. I'm thankful for their wisdom in seeing what really mattered in the situation and what could have been lost had they not.

I'd like to invite them over soon. On a whim. Messy house and all.