Today I took Minnie and Jackson to register with the library local to the house we’re buying.  I am trying to get a feel for the community we will be living in, making sure we’ll fit in.  I realised it’s actually the small things that help you to feel comfortable in a community.

We were crossing the road to get to the library and as we waited at the lights and the green man appeared, the little old lady stood next to us, took Minnie’s hand and guided her across the road.  And Minnie held her hand all the way.  That to me, says we’ll like this community.

So even though there are bumps from liquefaction caused by the earthquakes at the end of our road and some of the houses on nearby streets are a little scruffy I think, I can live here, because there are little old ladies who take your child by the hand and make sure they get to the other side safely.

As I write this I also think, choosing a community to live in shouldn’t all be about what it can give to me.  Surely it’s a 50/50 split between that and what I can give to the community?  Instantly my viewpoint is turned 180 degrees.  Instead of seeing the needs of the community as ‘unattractive’, I consider that if this were my community, what could I do to make the problems go away or improve the less than perfect elements.  Now I feel invigorated and excited about where we might be moving to.

Ooh I hope we get this house.