Our Neighbor Lady

Last week our neighbor lady, who I've written about before here and here, came to visit, with cake on a platter.

"It's my 60th birthday next Tuesday! I brought you some cake to celebrate."

I thought that was so sweet and thanked her for it, wishing her a happy birthday, albeit a few days early.

A few hours later that day, she came again - this time with a question.

"What time will you be home tomorrow?"

When I told her she replied, "I'll be bringing sandwiches for you tomorrow to celebrate my birthday"!

And sure enough, the next day, she brought a platter of "chlebičky" (little Czech sandwiches) for us. Could she be any sweeter?! I love the Czech tradition of doing something for others on your birthday.

Yesterday was the actual day of her birthday, so of course I wanted to do something for her. Claire and I picked up flowers, chocolates and a card and took it over in the afternoon.

She was delighted! Got a cute picture of her and Claire (who she loves and prays for with her brother every day!).

An hour later, she was at our door to tell me thank you, going through every part of the conversation we'd had earlier, as well as recounting what we'd brought to her (she has a sweet tooth so the Swiss chocolates were especially a hit!), and saying she liked what we'd written in the card (I told her we were glad to be neighbors with her).

In the world's eyes, she may seem odd and a bit unkempt. But in our eyes, she is our very dear neighbor who loves us, and we love her.