Neighbors

A day or two before they left, everyone was playing hard. It was a play-hard marathon!!!!

Above are the girls and another neighbor, Matthew.

I heard someone say that with all the gadgetry we have to email, text, blog and beam our fellow man, we are today more disconnected from each other than ever. We can sit in our homes in Atlanta, GA in front of our 100 inch flat screen TV and play a silly video game with a stranger in Tokyo, but our next door neighbor could be starving or dead and we will never know it. It blows my mind that people will intentionally coop themselves up in a cul de sac in a tightly spaced little subdivision, and make no attempt to be social or hospitable to their neighbor. In the garage and out, in their SUV is all they have to offer.

We recently bid a glad but sad farewell to the epitome of great neighbors... the Zaldivars. Victor, Zuny, Gabe, Angela, Michael, Emily, Baby Zuny, and of course Mama Zuny and Beka, will be missed. They are a hard working, fun family who loves God, their neighbors and each other with great passion. We were fortunate enough to live across the street from them to be reciprocates of so much of that passion.

Victor, a Chik-Fil-A owner and the oldest son, Gabriel had moved back in previous months to their hometown of Miami, FL to seize a new store and better opportunity than his ownership experience in Atlanta. Zuny, a homeschooling mom held down the fort, attempting to sell their house in this very fickle market. To no avail and because they missed each other, they relunctantly decided to rent the home and almost instantly, they got a bite and were faced with "getting out" in a matter of days. The last few days we hung out with each other quite a bit, had community dinners with other neighbors, etc.

We owe them so much. We have seen each other through so much. We've fed each other. We babysat for each other. Zuny helped me keep my sanity as I was in tears after a second treacherous fall "on my watch" by Leslie Mykael to our hard floors. When Quadson had a bloody fall "on my watch," Gabriel calmly accompanied me and Quadson to the ER. Gabriel kept Quadson nice and calm in the back seat as I raced to the ER in hysterics.

Quadson calls the Zaldivars "my family." He has had a super tight bond with all of them starting with the two oldest, Gabe and Angela. He worshipped Gabe at 1o or so, now a pretty boy, cool teenager, who although he loves Quadson, kinda grew up as teens do, pass hanging with a toddler. At the height of their bond when Quadson would not follow my instructions, I would ask Gabe to instruct him and Quadson fell right in line. Angela, now a young lady, always has been a matriarchal figure to Quadson and has not grown out of that, as girls tend to not do. Michael and Emily, especially, Emily, were Quadson's somewhat "equal" playmates. He and Emily had grown to be particularly close over the past few months.

Quadson knows they have gone, BUT doesn't know that they are gone. When he sees the elderly couple and their two sons and daughter-in law who will inhabit the house for some months while their permanent home is being built elsewhere, I would not be surprised if Quadson does not go knock on the door and tell the new people to "get out of my family's house!!!!!" Although the new people will be there temporarily, they are bound to be great people. There is something about that house. It attracts good neighbors. The folks who lived there before the Zaldivars, Dr. Adam and Chrissy are to this day great friends of ours.

Leslie was just beginning to get attached to the family, seen here snacking with Baby Zuny.

We can't wait to get the girls together again. We will see the Zaldivars around Thanksgiving 2007 when we spend some time in Miami before we set sail on our Royal Carribean family cruise.