There’s something about making an emergency phone list that puts neighbors front and center. The numbers tapped out in your notes app make it plain as day that you are quite literally surrounded by support. And then, when you’re two flights (that your neighbor picked you up at 5:30 am for) and several states away by the time the kids wake up with hand, foot and mouth disease, all it takes is a few texts and one neighbor is walking your dogs all week and others are bringing care packages. Maybe those texts are hard to send because (hypothetically, of course) you’d much rather be the helper than the one asking for help even though you know how much you love when someone asks you for help.
But there it is, the village, showing up and taking care of each other. Like a dream. But it isn’t a dream. It’s real. It’s real because we chose it one day at a time.