Tip of the Week – Cook a recipe for which you are missing an ingredient and ask a neighbor for the missing item.

For those of you that struggle with the awkwardness and fear that can accompany neighboring, this week’s tip is for you. For you chatty Kathy’s out there, this week’s tip is for you. For everybody else… this week’s tip is for you too!

Our neighboring experiment this week is one of my favorites for a couple of reasons:

1. It’s an excuse! I really dread the awkwardness of neighboring. While the rest of my SoCe Life coworkers have mastered the art of door-knocking and neighbor interviewing, the idea makes me break out into a sweat. However, if I have an excuse, like to share extra tomatoes from my garden or to borrow a cup of flour, it’s much easier to break the ice with my neighbor and have a conversation.
2. This tip is intentional! If you don’t have neighboring anxiety, but you struggle finding opportunities to interact with your neighbors, intentionality is what you need. With this experiment, it’s not an oversight that you’re cooking something that calls for an ingredient you don’t have. Instead, you are intentionally finding a recipe that gives you the chance to foster interaction with your neighbor.

Whatever you decide to make, we hope it brings a new acquaintance, a good conversation, or maybe just a pinch of oregano. As always, continue to share with us the stories of how the neighboring movement is impacting your community.

Happy neighboring!