Hello Friends,
Here is what I thought was a sweet story.
If you live in Vancouver, you may hear people getting out of their homes and balconies at 7 pm nightly to “make some noise” for the health care workers. 7 pm is the change of shifts and the city is showing them some love.
Here is the link to how this started in Vancouver.
I have also been taking part in this 7 pm noise making. A few days ago, I decided to take my tambourine to my back alley to perhaps meet new neighbours. I spotted a neighbour in the apartment building right across from me with her cow bell. At the end of noise making, I walked over and stood below her window chatting.
We’ve been neighbours for 10 years and just met! Then another neighbour in the next building over, hears the chatting and comes out. The three of us exchanged so many stories.
This now has become a new nightly tradition, getting to know my neighbours. I so look forward to this ritual now.
I told them that when I was a child, my grandmother and I went daily to visit neighbours at the same time everyday. Usually 4:30 to 5:00 pm was a quick neighbour check in, sip on a cuppa tea and eat a tasty bite of something. Sometimes we ventured further away from our home to see old neighbours that moved away. We never called to announce our visit as most people had no phones! Besides, if the neighbour or friend was not home, there were no shortage of people to visit. Our home was also flooded with daily people popping in to check on us.
This tradition still occurs in India, but these days people call in advance usually.
My friends would regularly come to my window where I studied to pursued me to step out and get some air or a snack. Walk on the sea front, eat some junky street food and then return to my books.
I hope you find ways to have a break from isolation.
"Start Somewhere, but Start"
Hugs always,
Trudy Ann
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