Sunday, October 13, 2019

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken on October 12, 2003. It is hard to believe it was 16 years ago! We took Mattie to a Fall Festival in Leesburg, that included a farm animal petting zoo. Some of the most priceless photos I have of Mattie were his encounters with animals. Check out the look between Mattie and the sheep!


Quote of the day: There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. ~ Margaret J. Wheatley

One of the beauties of having a dog, is you have to go outside, walk around, and chances are, you are going to meet your neighbors and others in the community. Sunny keeps me engaged with the outside world. However, recently while Peter and I were walking with Sunny, a neighbor approached us and asked us to get involved in our complex's tenant association. 

Peter and I have lived in the same place since 1994. It's a long time and because we live in the city, it's transient, as we see people come and go. Yet in our complex there are many people who have been here long term. I am talking over 50 years! To them, this is their home, their community, and they take what happens here seriously. 

I listened to our neighbor's request of us, but truly did not take it too seriously. Since we have lived here for such a long time, I haven't seen the need to be a part of the tenant's association. That said, several weeks have passed by and now Peter is on the ballot to be voted in as president of the tenant's association this Wednesday evening. That may sound nice, but we have a large complex, with over 800 units. About a 1/3 of the complex is comprised of George Washington University students. Some of the tenants in our community are not fond of having students living among us, and this has caused great tension. It is like the great divide! So what I am saying is Peter is walking into a difficult situation, yet his calm and positive attitude, is apparently appreciated by all on the board. Both sides listen to him. 

With Peter taking on this role, I have had the opportunity to meet other people living in our community, who want to get involved and want to find out more. Case in point, we had a university student over this afternoon, who has agreed to serve on the board with Peter. I honestly think this is a first! As the board in the past never thought to invite a student to serve. Any case, I find this all rather funny, because when we first moved into the complex I too was a student at GWU. Not all students are rowdy. In fact I think we can all learn a lot from graduate students and likewise there is a lot students can learn from working professionals.