Fences and Bridges
I found a large pile of railings, palings and posts, stacked on my front lawn when I got home yesterday. Fortunately, I was expecting it. My three neighbours and I have agreed to work together and build a new boundary fence. It needed to happen. The old one was rotten and falling apart. None of us professes to be particularly handy on the tools, however we’re doing the job ourselves to save money. We will soon discover whether this has been a wise choice! Pulling down the old fence was fun and easy. Tomorrow however, we start to build the new one. It would be fair to say there’s a fair bit of nervous energy floating around the work site.
I somewhat reluctantly took the initiative to bring the neighbours together for this wee project. I carry the mantle of the ‘least practical’ brother in a family of eight boys and often feel out of my depth fixing and making stuff. Gill and I were keen to get the fence done however, and I thought I could help foster a bit more connection among neighbours.
I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a bit stressy at times, but I’ve enjoyed bringing people together, finalizing the design, negotiating a building plan and navigating the inevitable differences along the way. I do love the moments, in these kind of group experiences, when potential stumbling blocks become building blocks. Early in our conversations for instance, we discovered finances were tight for one family. After a bit of a yarn together, neighbourly goodwill kicked in, and the rest of us happily agreed to carry the costs they could not afford. It felt like we all shared in a special ‘love your neighbour’ moment.
I’ll let you know if the fence is straight on completion! But even if it isn’t, I’m sure we’ll all be closer. The fence between us is already a bridge, and not a barrier.