52 Weeks of Neighboring 8/5

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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. 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 with 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.

Remember you still succeed even if you don't come home with the ingredient. Even if your neighbor grumpily says, "NO" we hope you will still celebrate the courage and energy it took to attempt.  

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 the stories of the neighboring movement impacting your community.

Happy neighboring!