Neighbors

Once upon a time, I was a consistent blogger. I blogged every single day for about four-years. I started that “habit” 20-years ago for my online business. It was a way to share my daily thoughts with strangers and friends alike, and a way to promote that online business. The act of blogging, for me, was very cathartic. I didn’t have many friends at the time as I had just moved to Boise, and this was my way of finding connection. The written word can be such a connector, and it can also be a destroyer, it is all in the way we wield it.

I’ve been telling myself for years that I would get back to blogging, but the act of sitting down to write was an act that I couldn’t convince myself to do. Not even once since I stopped blogging back in 2009.

I do sit a lot and I do write a lot. Mostly emails to clients. I probably spend more time emailing people than I do actually creating their content. I’m working on that imbalance and really examining how the hell my time can get so eaten up by emails. This year, I’m giving myself more time to write, because I miss writing for the fun of it with no expectations. Especially no expectations of response. No one needs to “reply all” on this blog post. No one even has to read it! And that’s the beauty of blogging. And that’s why I’ve decided to pick it up again. Plus, I’ve been heavily working on the two books I’ve been writing since 2020, so the writing bug is back, baby! And it won’t let me go. It’s got a strong hold on me and I’m going to ride that wave as long as it will let me.

Through the course of blogging, I’m sure I’ll reveal what those two books are about and I’m almost certain that I will write about all the awesome content that I get to create for my various clients. I’ll write about the business of creating video content and the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. I will also someday spell that correctly before autocorrect indicates that I still get it wrong. I guarantee that I’ll regale you with stories about my cats and dog and their antics. Like, right before sitting down to write, Tyke my kitten, got chased by a poop string. I don’t know what he ate, but it was a very long “string” and it chased him through the house until I could get ahold of him and save him from the monster. It was disgusting and hilarious and now I am really wondering what in the actual f*ck he had hanging out of his pooper. I don’t have open garbage cans in my house because of my cats and dog and I don’t think any of his toys have strings that are that long. But it was something and it traumatized my kitten, although he seems fine now, and that means that I really need to keep an eye on what I have lying around my house.

So, yeah, there will be blogs about things like that too.

Welcome to my life.

I’ll also probably turn these posts into podcasts. I have all the equipment and software to make it happen, but just like sitting down to write, the act of sitting down to record a podcast is daunting. ONLY because I have client work to complete and that comes before most things. Balancing out my life is definitely a thing for 2025.

There is an actual topic to write about today.

I live in a great neighborhood. One of my besties lives a few blocks away from me. We met at a neighborhood brewery, back in 2020, that’s only a couple blocks from my house, and this morning, we took our dogs for a walk in the rain. We both decided to participate in Dry January, without the other knowing until we texted each other one day in early January to say how bored we both were because we were just sitting at home not drinking. And now, on the first of February, he’s having to extend that dryness for the next year due to health issues and after having a drink a couple days before I was supposed to end Dry January, my mind and body are now saying - nah. It’s not worth it. So, we took our dogs for a walk this morning to commiserate over continuing to not drink and find other things to do that don’t involve alcohol. Like walking in the winter rain.

After we parted ways, I walked home past my neighbors’ houses and appreciated that I live amongst some really nice people. I don’t know all of them, but I’ve met a few over the last five years since I moved here in September of 2019, and we wave at each other, chat with each other, and share our garden veggies with each other. I ran into one of my neighbors at the gym back in December. We recognized each other and started talking in between our reps. He asked me where I’m from - Hawaii - and I asked him where he was from - Mexico. He told me about his family and how he’s not a huge fan of Boise (neither am I), but it’s where he lives now to raise his family and give them the best life possible. In the summer, he and his family sit in their front yard and enjoy time together. They always have their windows open and we always wave at each other when I drive or walk by.

Except that for the last week, their blinds have been shut and their cars haven’t moved. It looks like no one is home, except that I can see steam rising from one of their pipes in the cold winter air. I’m concerned about them. I’ve become accustomed to waving at them and seeing them in their house. And now, nothing. Perhaps they’re traveling and will be home soon. I really hope that’s what it is and not that they’re scared to leave the house with this new administration. I want to show them that I’ve been thinking about them and that I’m here if they need anything. Do they need groceries? I’ll go to the store for them. Do they need help? I’ll do whatever I can to help them. But I don’t know. Because from the outside, their house looks quiet and all closed up.

I told a friend the other day that I’ll just go knock on their door. He expressed some concern, for both me and my neighbors. When people don’t want visitors, this is what they do. Shut the blinds. And they seem to be like me - I LOVE leaving my blinds open when I’m home to let the sun in. And they always had their blinds open.

I’m thinking of making banana bread and taking it over to them, so I have a “reason” to visit. My friend asked, “do you even make banana bread?” I said, “well, no, but I have a bunch of frozen bananas, so I can make banana bread if I really wanted to.” He laughed. “Sounds like a Steph thing to do.”

So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to make banana bread and I’m going to leave it on their doorstep with my phone number. If they are afraid to leave the house, I want them to know that they have a friend in the neighborhood. I might wait a few more days though, because if they are out of town, I don’t want the banana bread to spoil and then they’d come home to rotten banana bread and wonder why a neighbor would do such a thing. I really hope they’re traveling and I really hope to see them soon. Living in fear because of what is happening in our country is not the American Dream.