BIRTHDAY PARTY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

 BIRTHDAY PARTY 
IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

Carol Braun, 90


Marie Moore, 95



In June 2023, I walked door to door on my street distributing Engaged Neighbor program information and a letter about myself. My goal was to encourage my neighbors to get to know each other for the first time or again. One neighbor, Carol,  told me her 90th birthday was in September. Another neighbor, Marie, was celebrating her 95th birthday in August, the same day my son turned 22. 

My neighbor Carmen and I decided to throw a birthday party for Carol and Marie. We created a flyer and distributed the invitation door to door. Calls came quickly, offering to contribute food for the event. 

Years ago, neighbors on my street had a semi-annual front yard cookout. The cookouts ended after losing some of the incredible people on our street. Tonight, our tradition comes back to life.  Most of the people on our street gathered in my yard. Seeing everyone walk or drive over with generous contributions was so sweet. We shared food and birthday cake while getting to know each other again and sharing neighborhood memories. 

My son and his wife joined us. Watching the neighbors communicate with the 22-year-old that most of them met as a 2-year-old was sweet. He arrived with buckets of tomatoes. As everyone was leaving, he packed up bags of tomatoes to send with them. A SWEET mom moment. 

Thank you to everyone who came.  A special thanks to those who set up, cleaned up, and brought food & cake. You are the best! It was a joy to share in the warm smiles, the conversation, and the friendships. 

Tonight's neighboring was in honor of and celebration of two lives well lived. 
Happy Birthday, Marie and Carol. As a bonus, we learned that two neighbors were celebrating their 71st wedding anniversary! Happy Anniversary Stan & Ann. 

Deana Tucker Dothage, Neighbor




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS

Image
NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS Submitted by Deana Tucker Dothage, March 26, 2024 The beautiful woman in this photograph is my mother, Alice. The picture was taken in 2019 during a trip to Oklahoma. In 2024 she turned 94 years old. From mid 30's to retirement , she was a career woman, and before that a mother of four. After she retired, she worked in my insurance agency taking on the bookkeeping and payroll.  During her late 80's to now, she has had some health setbacks, and recently, a terrible fall resulting in multiple broken bones. After a brief hospital stay to treat wounds, she is home with me and my brother, where she has lived for the past 13 years.  As neighbors learned that she left and returned by ambulance, they started reaching out to find out what was wrong and if we needed anything. Soon after, pizza was delivered. Next, a plate of dessert arrives. Many texts, private messages and phone calls as well as a shout out from a neigbhor's driveway have been received, i
Read more
Image
  GETTING TO KNOW MY NEIGHBORS June 2023 Deana Tucker Dothage Buckhorn Court has been my home for 19 years. We have babies through age 95 who live here. People move out, move in and some lived their last days in homes on this street. My son and one of his closest friends were raised here. My neighborhood is green! Lots of trees and well-maintained landscaped yards. There is a pond in the backyard on both sides of our street. It’s a joy to wake up and look out the windows, to sit on the deck or front porch. As my involvement in the Engaged Neighbor increased by delivering programs about being a good neighbor and getting to know your neighbors, it occurred to me that I could be a better neighbor. Gathering printed materials about Engaged Neighbor events, newsletters, Good Neighbor Week and Engaged Neighbor St. Charles (8/29/2023) to distribute on my street was easy. Putting pen to paper, I composed a letter of introduction that starts with “Let’s get to know each other.” One reques
Read more