gratitude: part 1

Since I've been so busy lately, and I feel too drained to come up with any creative topics for thought, I decided to go with theme and make this into a gratitude journal. I figured, since I've never had a huge audience anyway, that no one would really mind (or even notice for that matter). So here's the first of many things that I am thankful for...
I'm thankful for having grown up in a neighborhood. Neighborhood's may not look so great from the outside, with all of their cookie-cutter similarities, and such, but there's a whole family dynamic complete with pecking order and built in life lessons to boot when you grow up in one of them. Neighborhoods motivate people to improve themselves, as there is always an underlying sense of healthy competition. Sometimes it is negatively referred to as "keeping up with the Jones'," but I'm not so sure it's always a bad thing (unless of course it becomes totally materialistic and ridiculous). Also, there is a sense of community, family helping each other and belonging. If you're in the midst of baking a Lindsor Torte (I don't even know what the hell that is), and you run out of flour (not even sure that's an ingredient), you send your 8 year old next door with a measuring cup and some puppy dog eyes, and sure enough, they come back with whatever you need. It's great! When you grow up in a neighborhood, it's like having 20 families instead of just one. Everyone is always looking out for you. If you miss the bus and your parents aren't around, Mrs. Emerich or Mrs. Ives will surely give you a lift to school, and all of your best friends are just a stone's throw away. Your parents don't have to use gas or finish what they're doing to take you somewhere, you just walk or get on your bike and pedal your butt there. I love neighborhoods!! So what if they're eyesores lacking in the rustic charm of an old stone farmhouse. They've got heart, and they've got love, and I am so thankful for having grown up in one!!