It’s February and Valentine’s Day will be here soon. I’ve been watching online and saw that some businesses have been promoting #LoveWeek (Feb 11-17) and thought maybe it’s time that all of us inserted a whole lot of love into our neighborhood. This hit me because I read a post on NextDoor where one of our neighbors said people don’t wave or speak to each other, nor do we have community events or block parties. That made me sad and made me think maybe it’s time we let our neighbors know how much we appreciate them, value their friendship, and wish them the very best. Of course, I let this gentleman know about our Facebook page and how we are sharing stories about our neighbors, their pets, and local events. How we have started organizing some activities; Wednesday before Thanksgiving at FireRock Grille, our Halloween “Boo Bags”, and are in the planning stages of an annual Easter Egg hunt and mid-Winter Progressive Dinner. Neighbors can pick and choose to join in or pass. But I digress …
So, what is #LoveWeek that these businesses are promoting? Everyone in the work place that is interested throws their name into a hat, and everyone picks a name. The name you draw is your Human, which makes you their Secret Angel, corny but kind of cool. Your duty as a Secret Angel is to show love and appreciation for your Human throughout Love Week in creative, mysterious, and secretive ways. But what if we become the FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD to join in this phenomenon. We have well over 700 homes in Crystal Springs, and although I own several hats, the logistics of putting names in hats may be a bit overwhelming to start. But what if all of us look around and think about a neighbor that needs a little attention? You don’t have to spend a crazy amount of money to show kindness and appreciation. Be creative and buy, or better yet, make them a card, bake a loaf of banana bread, or take flowers to them, maybe take them out for a cup of coffee, a movie, and if you have an elderly or disabled neighbor, what if you showed up and shoveled or salted their walk to the house for the rest of the winter or brought them dinner? Kindness comes in many packages. Make someone smile and share your story with us. You don’t have to use their names but let’s make this an annual “event” that can grow from Fountain View Villas, to The Heathers, The Greens, The Village, and to the West side of Kalamazoo. Here is a video of one such company who started #LoveWeek to give you some ideas on what you could do. Happy Valentine’s Day Crystal Springs!
