Many of us have heard of the Second Commandment, Love Thy Neighbor. But how many of us put it into practice? I’ll admit, I’m not the best at it. When you get home from a long day at work, you don’t really want to have another conversation as you get your mail. Anybody with me? It’s ok if you’re not. Frankly if you look forward to that front yard fodder, I admire you. Truly! Quick background story. I used to host a daytime (live) talk show called Bridge Street. And on it, during a host chat segment, I may have brought up this very same topic. I was absolutely not prepared for how polarizing it would be. So I’m staying out of it this time and have something simple to offer you today. One little tweak has made an unbelievable impact on how I view that commandment, and how I look at my neighbors now.

As the weather gets nicer, I like to take Grey on walks in the neighborhood to soak in that vitamin D, have some one on one time with my bud, and get some much needed exercise. You’ll find me pushing the stroller up the hills and my “hello” likely comes out as a winded and wheezing “helllllp”. Anywho. Our daily walks used to be along Lake Michigan and through downtown Chicago where there was so much to feast your eyes on. A walk through a development doesn’t hold quite the same luster but I’ve found a few ways to make it more interesting. First, I love to see all of the improvements our neighbors are making to their homes. The pride of home ownership is truly something I hold in the highest regard. It takes the utmost work ethic, hard-earned dollars, precious time, deep care, and more love than I ever imagined to own your piece of the American Dream. So when someone else cares as much as we do, I instantly feel a connection with them. I know their struggles when the hot water tank blows, when their basement floods in the middle of the night, when they have to dig up their entire backyard. I feel their pain. I also know how much they spent on flowers for their pots and appreciate the time they spent in planting them so we could enjoy the beauty as we drive by.

This weekend I had a mini breakdown as Jon and I were breaking our backs spreading 30 yards of mulch. Yes, T H I R T Y yards. Not bags (Jon tells me that equals 420 bags). And I thought, why do we do all of this? Why does it matter? It matters because we have a true, deep pride for our home. We are proud to have worked hard to buy her. We are proud of our attempts to beautify her. And because we “love thy neighbor” and want to make it beautiful for those around us.

So I vowed to show them. As we stroll the neighborhood this summer, I’m leaving little #NixonPack notes for our neighbors who go the extra mile. My first one will be for an older gentleman I see every day with his knee pads weeding his massive flower beds. The second will be for a couple who has four children and they’ve been fixing their home up little by little. I know how hard it is to do a project with just one little one running around. I can’t imagine four! And also notes just because. Maybe someone always waves to us as they drive by. That’s a day-maker more than you know. So many others turn the other way, or pretend not to see you at all. And that brings me to my last point. I’m going to stop to say hello. Because maybe you can sprinkle a little sunshine into someone else’s day, and that time you need a cup of sugar, they’ll actually answer the door to lend it to you.