My sister and her husband have one of the loveliest yards I’ve seen. When they first moved to the spot where their home now is it was just a barren piece of dirt, literally. Now, it’s lush with beautiful indigenous plants, flowering bushes and green lawns that have attracted wildlife such as birds, lizards and butterflies. What I’ve heard her say many times is that people will see her yard and tell her that they want to make their property just like hers and she has to remind them that it took time; not just years, but decades. Not only that, they knew what they were doing ahead of time. They educated themselves on what to plant and how to grow it, how to maintain it and had a vision of what they wanted.
Some of our communities can learn something from my sister. Great things don’t happen overnight, building a beautiful, vibrant community that attracts others requires planning, knowledge, patience and the right attitude. That last one might be the most important one. If we look at the needs in our communities and only offer biting comments, sarcasm and treat it separate from us when we are the ones living there, what can we expect to grow? Even if we don’t have the skills to improve our communities, we all have a voice in ensuring that the right people are in place that do and once they are there, support those efforts and maybe someday, step back and feel like we had a hand in creating something to be proud of.
