Our view
Umph. It’s been rough.
I’m currently sitting in my Colorado home. Most boxes have been unpacked. Blinds have been installed on all the windows so they’re no longer naked, but only some have their clothes on (ie curtains). We finally got internet hooked up! I burnt my first dinner in my new oven so we got that out of the way. I’m currently waiting for the area rug I ordered to ground the room I’m sitting in because heaven knows I could use some grounding!
It’s a beautiful home and I know we’ll love it. But if our Texas home taught us anything, it’s that it’s not just about aesthetics but so much more about community. That was what we had at The Peninsulas in northeast Texas. A community that became friends and somewhere along the way turned into family.
We were never inundated by neighbors knocking on our door introducing themselves or anything. But I remember Monique dropping off a gift basket. And I was so excited when Shirley gave us custom towels with our name, the year, and the neighborhood although I don’t remember where we were when she did that. Book club, maybe? Back in the summer of 2018, The Peninsula’s had more empty lots than homes. But the ones that were there, especially the full timers were pretty tight. They already had a structure in place for the ladies that included monthly lunches out and regular book club evenings. The men would occasionally get together for scotch and cigar night and last minute lunches out (because men don’t usually plan very well in advance).
Many neighbors were retired or semi retired which usually made us the youngest ones in the group. But they didn’t seem to hold that against us (haha) and they were always friendly and included us even if we couldn’t make it because we had to work. Most of them were enjoying the “lake life”. They had boathouses and jet skis. They hosted big groups of family and friends for long weekends out at the lake. Their season of life was post punching the clock and afforded them time to nurture friendships, passions, and often traveling. It was a different season of life than we were in but we were always struck by their abundant generosity. Whether it was donating back to school items or collecting food for our church events, we only had to send out a message calling for needs in our community and they responded by dropping off bags, sending Amazon packages full of supplies, or donating their time. Several regularly volunteered at Titus County Cares and the local CASA. They filled tables at charity events and made bids at auctions to help local causes. I recall one neighbor noticed the van of a homeschool family that had come to pick something up from me. He had noticed her tires were bald and dangerous to drive with. He dropped off a wad of cash for me to give to her for new tires. Wow!
Then there were the parties! Oh, the parties. Many had homes built for entertaining with indoor/outdoor spaces overlooking the lake. Whether it was Mike and Monique’s famous 4th of July and Christmas parties, Jason and Lisa’s Super Bowl or St Patrick’s Day soiree, the Wilkinson’s Christmas party last year, or the New Years party at the Wrights, these neighbors legitimately enjoyed each other’s company.
The regular ladies’ book club quickly became a favorite of mine. I love to read anyway so I didn’t need convincing! There was never any pressure to actually read the book but if you did there was sure to be good conversation. We took turns hosting and I’d be lying if I said that getting a chance to be invited into their stunning custom lake homes wasn’t a perk! My favorites were the ones that were lived in - with family photos and mementos collected over a lifetime coupled with beautiful design and timeless classics. The food was also a perk since it meant I didn’t need to make dinner that night but only had to come up with an appetizer. We never went hungry! I’m surprised no one ever put together a neighborhood cookbook!
Ugly sweater Christmas party
And speaking of parties, have I mentioned the 4th of July? I can’t even …. I’ve never known any neighborhood to be so darn patriotic that they’d be willing to throw a fireworks show that rivals an Olympic opening ceremony! Since the 4th is also our wedding anniversary, we always had somewhere to go and something to do! We’d end the day on a neighbor’s boat dock and watch the fireworks explode in the sky while reflected in the water below. It was magical!
It wasn’t the parties though that endeared us to them. It was the hard times. In January of 2020, I had a hysterectomy. It was traumatizing for obvious reasons. And I had the procedure at the local hospital instead of going to the city. I was nervous since we had only lived there for a year and a half and wasn’t sure about the reputation of anywhere or anything. Neighbors more in the know than me assured me it would be alright. But it was Tammy, who worked a day or two a week on the OBGYN floor, that happened to work the day of my surgery. I was so grateful for the familiar face and her ability to make sure I got “the good room and the best nurses”! She sat by my bed in recovery to make sure I wasn’t alone when Wayne couldn’t be there. Afterwards when I got home, neighbors got the word out and brought over meals for the three of us. That food filled more than our bellies but our hearts too.
Then March 2020 came and with it the COVID 19 shutdown. If we had to live through a world wide shut down, we lived in the best place to do it - a gated, small community in east Texas where the best weather was in March and April! But even then, no one really knew what to do or how dangerous it really was. Most could agree though that we needed each other! Our socializing looked a little different during those early months. There was happy hour in the parking lot of the clubhouse with couples in their Rangers (or folding chairs for those of us without). There was my emergency backyard salon - because hair grows during a shutdown too! And we could still take the three mile round trip walks around the neighborhood and talk from the end of driveways.
Rachel's salon circa 2020
They loved their Rangers!
We also had some funerals. Royce had some health scares before his passing and I remember sitting with Wayne in he and Debra’s living room for a devotion afterwards. We were grateful that his life had been spared although he had side effects from the stroke. Royce and Debra had a lifetime of a beautiful marriage complete with three boys all married and a handful of grandchildren. They were classy, Christian people with accents as slow and southern as they come! They were not only important to our neighborhood but a bedrock of the community. Royce’s funeral was jam packed with people from all over town - a testament to his reputation and warm personality. And after his passing, Debra became an example to us all of mourning and moving on. She was still Debra and she had grandchildren to love and trips to take and friends to get together with and yes, a husband to miss and look forward to seeing again in heaven.
It was so hard when Lisa died. Sitting in Tammy’s sunroom one October evening for ladies bookclub, the news that Lisa had cancer stunned each and every one of us. If Royce had been the “grandfather” of the neighborhood, Lisa was the heart of it with her easy smile extending friendship to everyone! You couldn’t help but like her. She’d walk past my house numerous times a day on her regular walks with her dogs. It was like clockwork. When we’d run into each other, we’d always talk about our kids who were all becoming adults and making their own way. As moms in this similar season of parenting, we would encourage each other. Lisa was the biggest help when we unexpectedly adopted Buddy from the ditch. We could not have done it without her. Seriously. And when our HOA put in a pickleball court, Lisa organized teams and times. She taught me the rules of the game as we volleyed back and forth. For awhile we had a standing Saturday morning or Monday night foursome of me, Lisa, Mendy, and Vickie with Debra subbing occasionally. We called ourselves the Peninsula Pickle Dolls! Or maybe that was just me ….
Lisa, Vickie, Shirley
She deteriorated hard and fast. It was painful to watch. I was honored to give her her last haircut in her home. It was early December just after Advent by Candlelight at my church. She loved attending that every year and would tell me how much she looked forward to it. She was too sick to make it this time so I brought a gift bag from the evening and told her all about it as I trimmed her gray, short curls. That would be the last time I saw her.
Knowing that this would be her last Christmas, much of her family was coming in for the holidays. The neighborhood helped out by supplying all the festive food they would need for the occasion! She passed away not long into the new year and her funeral was on February 1. Wayne had the privilege of doing the funeral hosted at our church. It was filled to the brim with her family and friends. Our church ladies bent over backwards to serve at this event - but they will have to get their own blog post later ….
Lisa ❤️
There was Snowmageddon in February of 2021. That was crazy!! So much cold and snow that Texas didn’t know what to do! At that time, only a few neighbors had home generators. With power out in our area, that was rough! Those smart enough to have those generators were also nice enough to let the rest of us come over to use their microwaves, heat up some hot drinks, or just plain thaw out. That was the winter we realized that the water shut off valve for our Texas homes were buried in the front yard. That usually wasn’t an issue but it was when one neighbor’s home started flooding and they were out of town. A group quickly got together bringing their shovels (if they owned one) and starting combing this neighbor’s snow covered yard in search of the cover that would give access to the water shut off valve. It was like Where’s Waldo! Only this wasn’t a game - the water flooding the yard and inside their house a reminder that this was serious!!!! This was also the storm where Wayne helped a bunch of guys break up the ice in the neighborhood pool. I’ve never seen such a thing! With pick axes and shovels, the guys were desperate to save the pool from freezing over. This was just too much for Texans!!
Texas Snowmageddon
Camp Grandma made for some sweet memories. A handful of the lake grandmas would get together and organize a weekend every summer to host their grandkids. It was full of plenty of lake fun - jet skies, tubing, and boating. There was craft time, a giant rented water slide, a neighborhood scavenger hunt, and a Ranger parade. One year, one of the grandpas retired from the military put together an obstacle course complete with tires and all types of paraphernalia across the street from our house. It was pretty impressive!. What made this so special was that Hosanna was invited to join every summer by Tammy who “adopted” her as one of her grandchildren. Every year she got her personalized “Camp Grandma” t-shirt and was warmly welcomed to participate in any and all activities. She’d practically disappear for the weekend but I could hear the shouts of laughter echoing across the lake and knew she was nearby having the time of her life!
Tammy's kids ❤️
The grandparents!
Everyone was so sweet to Hosanna. For a few years there was a family that lived full time in the neighborhood with two young girls and she would be asked to babysit them. She took it very seriously and usually brought a load of Barbies with her to help entertain them! She was also asked over the summers when she was home from school to water plants or take care of pets while neighbors went on vacation. Many of them watched her grow up from an awkward preteen to a confident college aged young woman.
Her senior pic in front of the gate
Wayne formed a gang while we were there - during the last part of the year anyway. You think I’m kidding? They were a group of bikers. No, not that kind. I know what you’re thinking. They biked. Peddled. Some wore special shorts with padding in particular places (not W!!, he’d rather suffer). They went anywhere from 10 - 25 miles! Though they would try and start early in the day before it got Texas hot, it was still hot and humid even then. They would peddle and chat along the way. I’m not sure how you do that when you’re out of breath …. Afterwards there were usually one or two of them out on the back porch sipping iced tea and enjoying the company of each other. It was an unexpected bond and a fond memory for W.
The best times were when we were able to combine the best of both our worlds - our church family with our Peninsula family. Over the years I invited the neighbor ladies to Grace’s Advent by Candlelight. More often than not, I had an overflowing table to host them at. I loved being able to share this time with them on a deeper spiritual level. Their presence was a honor! Of course, hosting Lisa’s funeral service at Grace was a blessed opportunity to share the comforting gospel message with many of them that attended. We’ll never forget the Bible Uncorked nights when Grace hosted outreach events at the local winery. We enjoyed charcuterie over a lively discussion of what was usually some controversial spiritual topic. Our neighbors were more than willing to engage with a spirited and interested attitude. Always a fun and relaxed evening.
Advent by Candlelight
Bible Uncorked
We left though on the best note. Over the years we had occasionally offered a short worship opportunity over long weekends at the club house. Usually it was a condensed version of W’s sermon and a simple song like Amazing Grace to offer up. It always attracted a group and often they would bring their houseguests staying for the long weekend. It was after one such get together that two neighbor couples were interested in learning more about Grace Lutheran Church and began taking Bible Information classes in our home on Sunday afternoons. These afternoons studying Scripture with those couples were such precious times! It was during the latter part of the study materials when W received the call to Colorado. Our hearts broke that we would have to walk away after establishing this new aspect of our relationship with them. But W was adamant that he have time to finish the class and that we would see them be brought into membership before we left. It was a joy and a privilege to witness their membership vows and they promised to keep the rest of the neighbors in the loop for invitations to Grace activities. God provided!
new members of Grace!
Our neighborhood grew quite a bit during our time there. More and more people were building their retirement or vacation homes and the lots started filling up. Our social get togethers grew larger and larger. It became challenging to remember all the new names! Some were there full time and others only occasionally. For any new couple that decided to make their home at the Peninsulas, they didn’t just build or buy a beautiful house but they received open arms and an invitation to be part of a community that would be an extended family. Bet they didn’t see that one coming!
At the end, they gathered for an evening in our honor. The Buchanans hosted and we felt so much love surrounded by so many of them we’d come to cherish. We ate great food like we always did when we got together. They showered us with cards and laughs and well wishes. We learned that W had made quite an impression with his shirtless walks with Buddy. Most of all, they reminded us how important community is to a full life.
To our dearest Peninsula family, thank you for welcoming us crazy Canadians to Texas back in 2018. You made the culture shock a little easier! Thank you for loving our kids in that crazy season of growing into adulthood. Thank you for your friendship, warmth, and southern hospitality. Thank you for humoring my Epicure phase. Thank you for the snake tips and for coming to my rescue a few times when W was out of town. Thank you for the meals you brought over when I was recovering from surgery. Thank you for the invitations, conversations, and good times! Thank you to Bert and Libby for game night, golf, and good friendship. Thank you to those that helped us move our hot tub. Thank you to Robbie who put a hole in our ceiling to accommodate a new air conditioning unit that broke there at the end (and for covering the hole back up). Thank you to those that loved Buddy!!! Thanks to those that let Buddy take them for walks. Thank you to those continuing to keep an eye on our house as it sits for sale. You are an answer to prayer! Thank you for being so much more than neighbors. We’ve been blessed in the ‘hood. We sure didn’t see that one coming.
