We live on two acres just outside the city limits of a small town. Most of our neighbors have five acre parcels or larger, so there’s quite a bit of elbow room, which has its advantages. However, the disadvantage is that it becomes difficult to be neighborly.

We may wave to neighbors we see outside working or playing, or honk our horn in greeting as we drive by, but it’s a rare occasion that we actually take the time to visit. The unexpected benefit to having a yard sale last weekend was that our neighbors dropped by. Most of them didn’t come to shop – they came by to visit. Some were “old timers” we’ve known for years and others we’d never met. Perhaps they were just curious about the “stuff” we had to sell, but the result was that we either reconnected with or met our neighbors.

When was the last time you were neighborly? Summer’s a perfect time to throw open the front gate and extend an invitation!