The Nicest Neighbor Ever

I was taking out my garbage this morning, and my next door neighbor was outside combing his cat. Now I hardly ever get a chance to speak with my neighbors, so in passing, we exchanged greetings. On the way back I commented how it was the biggest cat I'd ever seen. We started talking after he'd told me that the cat was 35(!) pounds. I told him that that was bigger than a turkey, and he told me some of the neighbors had told him the running range of his cat was about 15 feet. We joked about it a little, and he inquired how things were going, and somehow I stated that I was finally looking for a job.

He was very nice(as he usually is) and we spoke about plans for Thanksgiving. He was telling me that he might go to a local restaurant. I told him I had no plans, and had spoke with my daughter and wasn't sure if she was looking for an invitation, or was going to invite me. He told me that his sister was visiting. We finished our conversation with discussion of how we thought each of the other of us were good neighbors. He was about to trump me on that count.

I was sitting at my computer, looking for local jobs with qualifications similar to my skill set, and heard a knock on my door, and speaking outside. I peeked out the peep-hole and it was him. I opened the door, and he was standing with his sister, she with a bottle of wine, and he with a huge box with bags on top of it. He had gone to the local grocery store and bought an entire prepared meal for 7-10 people for me, so that I could invite my daughter to Thanksgiving. I was overwhelmed with emotion, as I was not expecting such a gesture. I almost cried right there in front of him and his sister.

I have something to be thankful for, more Thanksgiving dinner than I would ever prepare and something new to be grateful for, a great neighbor.