Love Thy Neighbor

Yesterday I walked out of my house and all of the leaves on the sidewalk in front of my house had disappeared. They had not gone with the wind; they had most definitely gone with a “helpful” neighbor’s rake. A very helpful neighbor, at that, for the sidewalk spanning my house reaches a good 40 feet and a massive persimmon tree, indiscriminate pine as well as two maples with thousands of tiny beige leaves arch over the walk.
My neighbor’s “helpful” act enraged and confused me.
The state of my sidewalk was no different from many of the houses I see on my nightly dog walks and better than two houses across the street.
Were my neighbor’s helping or making a subtle hint? Was my sidewalk pissing them off? Did they decide they would just do something about it? In a way, that is easier than going through the discomfort of bringing it up with me.
All the same, I can’t imagine doing another’s yard work without some sort of conversation. Living in an urban neighborhood we all navigate subtle yet vital boundaries. Invisible boundaries that somehow maintain both our sense of community while respecting our sense of privacy (even when there’s often very little noise or space filter between us).
At the same time, I may be all worked up when in reality my neighbor was just really psyched to use his new leaf blower/vacuum.