Edith had it right

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The street is quieter without them, but I find that I miss them. And I regret never learning their names. 

They moved into the corner rental a while back and were most distinguished by the noisy blue truck the parents drove. The kids had fun playing in the front yard, and I exchanged a few words with the dad as he sat on the front step smoking. But our connection never got beyond a nodding acquaintance, and that likely overstates it. 

Recently, we saw them loading items into the truck and driving off, but they always came back. It wasn’t until the other day that I realized they must have moved. The blue truck is gone. The kids are no longer in the front yard. And the dad is no longer on the front step smoking. The rental has that vacant sense about it. 


Why did I never take the moment it would have taken to stop as I walked by their house to say more than just ‘Hi’ on the fly. Why didn’t I make the effort to be more neighbourly?


Well, I thought there was time for that. Always time for that. Just not right then. 


But I was wrong. There is no time anymore for that. 


Edith Piaf, the French singer, had it right with her song Je ne regrette rien: Live your life without regret for what is in the past. We cannot undo what is done or redo what is not. 


When the new neighbours move in, I shall make the time to learn their names. 

 

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A Post a Day in May No. 30 For the past two years, I have posted something to this blog every single day in May. This year, I hope to do it again. 


Photo by Matt Safian on Unsplash 

Comments

  1. AnnMay 30, 2021 at 5:42 AM

    I used to have a nodding acquaintance with most everyone in our neighborhood, facilitated by our neighbor who has lived here more than fifty years and who introduced me to everyone, or at least told them about us! Another lesbian couple in the neighborhood.

    Dogs help. Walking a dog is like pushing a stroller full of triplets. Everyone stops to greet!

    As my mobility has decreased, I haven't gone as far afield as I used to, haven't had coffee on the porch with Rosemary, or picked an apple from Dottie's tree, or stopped to admire Joann's koi pond. Or, saddest of all, it's been quite a while since I, as the neighborhood good fairy, secretly left little gifts for the children on the corner, the one's with a very elaborate fairy village.

    However, after reading your blog this morning, I have decided to change all that. I'm walking a bit now, and I think that once I have the go ahead from my goth doctor, I will try walking the dogs again, if only to the end of the block and back. I'm way behind in tree sniffing and gossip collecting.

    And apples.

    ReplyDelete

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