Those Neighbors

Tonight we might have become some of those neighbors. You know the ones. The ones you're not quite sure are quite all there in the head. The kind you talk about behind closed doors. The kind you're not sure if you want your children to talk to. Those neighbors.

We have always been, we think, pretty decent neighbors. Not the best, but we try. We try to be friendly but reserved. We're not in everyone's business. We don't blare the music or rev our engines or honk our horns. We even borrowed a neighbor's lawnmower this weekend and got the grass looking good. You know. We try to be respectable. Likeable. The kind of neighbors we hope our neighbors would want. The kind of neighbors we want.

But tonight, well... we were pretty dorky. Silly. Stupid. Goofy.

But we had a great time.

Now here's the deal. We're kind of on a corner lot so we have a sizeable (too big, really) backyard. There is a concrete slab out there but it's all the way at the end of the yard. The previous owners had a storage shed on it. We would prefer the slab to be near the slider, so we could, you know, sit outside the house on, like, a patio.

But it is what it is and it isn't what it isn't so we have to do our best. But I got to thinking that it's a pretty cool slab of cement anyway and it would be perfect for summertime chalk drawings and Mexican horseshoes... and I came up with an idea for some family time this afternoon.

So this evening while I gabbed on the phone Ro went to work on the plan. He brought the grill out of the garage and carted it somewhat down the street and through the gate into the backyard. He set up a card table and chairs and made dinner, and we began our family time this gorgeous evening with a barbecue in our backyard. It seemed so weird to be so far away from the house, to be honest. I actually kind of felt like we were eating down the street! Here's a picture so you can kind of see the perspective from the house.

(Incidentally, since this was the first time we really spent any time over there by the concrete slab, it was cool to discover that the owners had etched some Scripture references in the cement!)

We enjoyed Ro's awesome burgers and some macaroni salad and then we got out the chalk and I began to sketch out some squares on the concrete. When I was done I went inside and put on a sports bra. You know, so I could play hopscotch with my kids.

Now any of you who know me even barely know that I am built rather top heavy. So I won't go into all the details about how I had to hop with my arms across my chest, or the comments from the peanut gallery about why I wasn't wearing said sports bra (and really, I was), or how ridiculous I felt flopping and bouncing while neighbors in adjacent backyards could easily see over the fence how strange I am.

But I have to tell you, it was fun to play with my kids! We all participated (although of course Grace just hopped wherever and whenever she wanted) in the longest-ever I think game of hopscotch. We laughed and took loads of pictures and just had a great time.

So that's where it began - you know - becoming one of those neighbors. We weren't obnoxious or rude but we were loud. We were laughing and squealing and hopping and flopping and having a great time. But that wasn't where it ended. Because after I won at hopscotch (can you believe I - overweight and old - beat these kids?)... after that, we got out the Slip & Slide.

Even Grace got into the water play action:

Okay now. Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down?

Here we go:

It's probably been more than 30 years since I've participated in such silliness. This one, I think, should win for style:

The weather was gorgeous, but let me tell you, that water was freezing! :)

After we finished up the kids sat and blew bubbles together while Ro and I cleaned everything up. It was one of the most enjoyable afternoons we've had with our kids, hands down. Awesome.