By Todd Marsha
I’m told things were different before we arrived in our current neighborhood. The children were all younger and relegated to play indoors or in the backyard. Things were quieter and there was less activity supposedly. I guess we were destined to shake things up a bit.
Our neighborhood’s been nothing short of Grand Central Station since our arrival in March. Every afternoon the lawn chairs come out and the parents keep a watchful eye as their kids speed up and down the street on scooters and bikes and take turns kicking around the soccer ball or breaking out the Matchbox cars in each others’ driveways. Our neighborhood was turning into…well…a neighborhood.
For the parents with young children, it’s great. So much activity and so many opportunities for relationships to be built. The kids get great exercise, too. Sure beats wasting away in front of a video game. (Not that it doesn’t happen some of the time.) But not everyone is overjoyed at the winds of change that have blown through our little enclave.
CAR!!!
Yes, the kids play in the street sometimes. Just like my cousins did growing up in suburban Buffalo, NY. We all couldn’t grow up with an apple orchard next door and 24 acres in the backyard like I did. Yes, cars will come out of driveways or turn onto the street prompting widespread shouts of “CAR!!!” Yes, drivers will have anxious moments. Nobody wants to be remembered for sending their neighbor’s child to the ER…or worse.
When those anxious moments happen, how we respond says everything. It’s easy to get caught up in our own insecurities and fears and lash out at the parents. They’re not watching closely enough, they’re too busy socializing, they’re just plain irresponsible. Concern turns to anger over our God-given right to drive up and down our streets without fear of causing a tragic accident. It’s hard to blame a kindergartener for a collision.
United We Stand…Divided We Fall
I’m reminded of Hillary Clinton’s 1996 book, It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. The responsibility of child rearing begins and ends with the child’s own parents, but it does take an environment of concerned adults who work together for the good of the entire neighborhood to produce kids who will become awesome adults.
Unfortunately, cooler heads have not prevailed lately on our street. Rather than discuss concerns and fears in a civil manner, there’s been accusation and judgment. That just doesn’t work for me. It’s time to live my values and time for my faithful neighbors to live their values. Let’s figure this out so everybody can live as a community, working together to keep these little ones safe while they enjoy the sunshine each day.
God calls us all to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Time to practice what He’s preaching.
God bless,