Signs on Neighbors’ Houses

Two handmade wooden signs, on two houses within a few blocks of each other – one welcoming, the other shutting people out.

As I walk through the neighborhood past the signs I wonder what the people in the two houses are like, and what motivated them to put up the particular sign they chose to display.

For the sign on the porch that simply says “GO Away,” I have to wonder if the occupants had a neighbor who borrowed a cup of sugar one too many times or failed to return a rake or other tool.

In this day and age when knowing your neighbor seems less likely, I am appreciative of my neighbors who have chosen to take time to converse and be neighborly.

I have on occasion had one of my children run to the neighbors to borrow an egg or a cup of oatmeal. I remember one time in particular when one of my daughters was baking No Bake Cookies only to realize we didn’t have enough oatmeal. For this particular cookie there is a very short window of time to add oatmeal before the outcome is ruined. She ran to the neighbor who we had met a couple times prior and asked for a cup of oatmeal, returning with an entire container of oatmeal.

So, after making the cookies and other Christmas baked goods, that neighbor received not only the planned plate of goodies, but a few extra No Bake Cookies.

As Hands of Hope staff work to integrate Respect messaging into the community with a goal of reducing tolerance and acceptance of intimate partner violence, I have to believe that if neighbors were more neighborly maybe there would be less violence.

If we can take the time to say hello or give a quick smile when we see a neighbor out or a child playing – those same neighbors just might be more likely to ask for help when they need it and maybe we would see more WELCOME FRIENDS signs and less GO Away signs in houses around town.