- I went into labor unexpectedly while my husband was on a business trip.
- My neighbors jumped into action to help, even though I was reluctant to ask for support.
- It reinforced the power of community, and now we’re more involved than ever in our neighborhood.
It was 5:30 in the morning, and I was almost certain that I was in labor after a long, sleepless, and painful night. I was a little over 34 weeks pregnant, alone, and unsure of what to do next.
As luck would have it, my husband was on a business trip across the country and soundly asleep. I couldn’t reach him as his phone was silenced for the night. My sister, also local and who would have been the next logical person to help, was also away on business.
In tears, I drove myself to the hospital, but in hindsight, I wish I had turned to my neighbors. They rallied around me in ways I never expected.
As word got around, I was flooded with offers to help
By 8 a.m. I’d gotten in touch with my husband and the doctor had confirmed that baby girl would be making her debut. They gave me medicine to slow my contractions down in the hopes that my husband would be able to make it from the West Coast to the East Coast before her arrival.
I was still alone and hadn’t asked for help, but when my husband messaged a neighbor to tell him he wouldn’t be able to make a golf trip that weekend and why, the neighborhood women sprang into action.
It was as if the bat signal had been activated — one neighbor canceled her morning meetings, put together a bag full of things she thought would be helpful, and drove to the hospital to be with me until my mom could drive the three hours to take over.
Another neighbor helped my brother-in-law pack a hospital bag and, noticing that the house was in disarray, took it upon herself to tidy and change all our sheets. She later drove to the hospital with additional items I needed and texted every hour to check-in. Others offered words of encouragement and offered to send food to my hospital room.
My daughter stayed in the NICU for two weeks after she was born, and the entire time, my neighbors were there. They sent flowers after an especially disappointing and frustrating visit to the NICU, started a meal train to help keep us fed, and dropped by to chat.
I wish I had accepted more help
It was an outpouring of love that I initially felt I didn’t deserve.
We had only been in the neighborhood for about 10 months when this happened. While we had begun to forge strong relationships with our neighbors, I didn’t want to bother any of them with what was happening. I thought I’d be burdening them with requests that would just add to their already busy plates.
But in hindsight, I wish I had proactively reached out for help and wish I had accepted more of their offers. I understand now that my neighbors genuinely wanted to be there for my family. Had I understood this, I could have had someone with me while I was alone and freaking out, which would have had a major positive impact on the traumatic experience.
It reinforced the power of community
Having neighbors who want to support each other is a blessing that I don’t take for granted, but I think that more people should recognize that most people are eager to help. My experience reminded me that people are kind and crave connection and that, as humans, we’re not meant to do everything ourselves.
I believe we’re all searching for community in a world where it’s easy to feel lonely and helpless with everything going on. Trying to build a community can be intimidating, but I’d encourage you to introduce yourself to your neighbors if you haven’t already. Exchange phone numbers and believe that they’d want to help if something is awry.
My neighbors still support our family today and in turn we support them, too. For no fault of his own, I couldn’t rely on my husband during a moment of critical need and I will be forever grateful for my neighbors’ taking charge in the way that they did.
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