Dropping By

I live in a place where walking over and dropping by are possible. Part of me wants all my loved ones in this place, where the ease of connection is natural and personal, where our friendship is mediated by sidewalks and fences. It's a gift that some of those loved ones do or have lived in this circumference reachable to me through physical and human means.

I have a neighbor who (for a season, when we were both home and getting very little ones through the day) would drop by. She just wandered over and I welcomed her in, or we sat on the stoop, and she saw my unswept floor and my piles of laundry. And I wandered over, in the long days, past her house and she welcomed me in and served me coffee, and neither of us had the time  or concern in those moments of contact to worry for more than a moment about tidying up or hostessing well.

I have another friend who lived nearby for a while and I loved how she found me at times, still in my pajamas, late in the morning, but happy to see her. And she would make the kids an impromptu picnic and we would chat.

It's not at all that I want constant involvement, or a full house (I like an empty house a lot of the time, introvert that I am). But when I am looking at you, when we are both present, there's a grace that flows more freely, there's a different kind of knowing, and being a part, and accepting.

If you know me well at all, you know that I don't carry a cell phone and I don't text and I'm not much for talking on the phone. Honestly, all those ways of developing and maintaining friendship make me a little anxious. But I'd love to wander over and see if you're home. Notice if you are busy, and if you are, just say hello and keep on going. And if you're not, maybe stay a while and catch up and laugh at the kids or the dog or just the mess.

I'm not really ready for it. There are dirty dishes here and there and I haven't dried my hair yet, but if you didn't mind a lot of imperfection, and you were wandering past, or wanting some human contact, or just getting through the day, wouldn't it be great if you could just walk over and drop by?