I think living in Franklin has made me a nicer person. The other day I had to rescue one of our neighbors, Margaret. I was potting a raspberry plant when I heard someone yelling for help. I looked around and there she was sitting in her backyard and couldn't get up. I went over and tried helping her up, but she wouldn't let me so we called her son instead. It was nice to meet another neighbor, even if it was under these circumstances. Margaret is so nice and was fun to talk with, even if she did keep forgetting my name. Turns out everything was fine, she ended up falling on the grass instead of anything really hard. I joked with her and her son I would have to start charging a fee since she's the second neighbor who's fallen and needed our help.
Unfortunately our other neighbor, Jane, who we helped up is not doing so well. She ended up needing a hip replacement and is still in the hospital and even worse her daughter, Janet, just passed away the other night. I knew something was up two days ago when I saw a bunch of full trash bags behind the house. Mary Alice, our immediate backyard neighbor, stopped me and told me that Janet was really sick and hospice was staying at the house since Jane was still in the hospital. We found out this morning that that night she passed away. We suspected either she had or she was close because there was family there all night. I didn't know they had that much family since we only saw a couple of people visit.
It's strange having someone die that lived right next to you. It gives home-ownership even more permanence. I think of our house more as a project sometimes than a home because I just know this isn't where we'll live forever. Even though I didn't know Janet that well, I knew her better than I ever knew a neighbor while we were living in an apartment. It's just...strange. I guess that's how today will be.
