NEIGHBORHOODS

Earlier this week, one of my patients and I spent a few minutes reminiscing about the old days. We began talking about our kids and grandkids…and then went on to talk about how different our kids/gkids are these days…compared to when we were young.

She remembered when she was little, her dad was always telling her and her siblings to...‘go out and play’. We talked about how it wasn’t uncommon...on those long summer days...for us to leave the house in the morning...and not return again until dark…spending the day playing with friends…and maybe grabbing some lunch at one of the friend’s house. Moms weren’t so likely to be at work…in those days…so it was frequent that one could stop in at a friends…and have that mom fix us something to eat.

We decided that…back in those days…we had ‘neighborhoods’…places where we knew our neighbors…and we were known by those neighbors. We could play safely…and our parents knew we were safe. My patient even laughed about how…if she or her siblings were misbehaving…she was as likely to get a swat on her butt from one of the other kids’ parents…as she was her own.

Our children/grandchildren don’t have that type of environment today. We allow them to be indoors too much…we allow them to watch too much TV…or play their electronic games...rather than get outdoors and enjoy the weather...and invent games to play...and exercise...and build friendships and memories that last a lifetime.

And because of that…we too often have lost ‘the neighborhood’ feel. There are neighbors we don’t even know…nor they us…or our kids. We’re often too busy looking out for ourselves…and paying less and less attention to our neighbors.

That’s a sad loss…for all of us.

Dan