Telling the Neighbors
One of the things that’s been nagging at me about having a home birth is how to break it to our neighbors–neighbors that we’ve never met. It’s not for lack of effort though, we just seem to live in a building where people like to keep to themselves.
We hosted a “Get to Know Your Neighbors” potluck a few weeks ago, and of the 20+ people who live here, only 4 showed up. It’s better than nothing, but I was less than thrilled with the turn out. So its no exaggeration to say that we know less than 1/5 of the people who live in our small complex. In a building with aging insulation and thin walls, I felt obligated to at least inform them of our impending home birth. But how do you first introduce yourself to someone who you’ve shared walls with for the past 8 months and drop this kind of news all at the same time?
“Hi, I’m Dona I live next door. I know we’ve never met, but I’m having a baby really soon and we’re having it at home. So uhhh, if you hear so strange sounds coming from our place over the next couple of weeks, don’t worry.”
This would surely be followed by some awkward long pauses and the exchanging of a few even more awkward pleasantries. Or maybe they’d be really genuinely nice and this supposed awkward conversation would forge the beginning of a new friendship. But probably not. We tend not to have the friendliest of neighbors and despite repeated “hellos” and “how are yous”, the status quo here on Pakington Street seems to be keep-to-yourself indifference.
So instead of put ourselves through way too many bumbling introductions, I instead baked a batch of lemon rosemary shortbread, wrote an explanatory note, and with a little ribbon to make it look pretty, placed homemade cookies at everyone’s door.
you will be totally zen…now Vibhu….not so sure hahahahahaha
hey once they taste your baking they won’t care if you run a truck through the building
I love it! Good call.
Shortbread looks fabulous; I’ll trade spaces with any of them just for a bite……..oh, and to see you, meet Vibhu & of course baby Athavaria.
Maybe I’m not giving our neighbors enough credit, but the girl who lives directly above us and who hadn’t been exceptionally friendly before, came down and introduced herself. Not only was she really chatty, but she brought us a sling to borrow for the first couple of months since its what she absolutely swore by with her little boy. And she’s 6 months pregnant, due at the end of January, so our babies can be best buds! Cookies can work miracles.
I think you summed it all up in that last sentence: “Cookies can work miracles.” Those neighbors have no idea how lucky they are to have you and Vibhu in their building. Feel free to yell and curse your head off, if necessary, to bring that little one into this world – they’ll forget all about it when they smell/taste your homemade bread.
I wish I lived next door…not just for the cookies! I must agree with your friend Johnna and think you should let it all out! Start practicing now!
Save some of those cookies for you and Vibhu.
cookies bring people together…maybe our politicians should start baking……