Our Neighbor’s Problem Child. Does It Really Take a Village?

Our Neighbor’s Problem Child. Does It Really Take a Village?

Our neighbor is a lovely lady. She’s been here for quite a number of years and we’ve enjoyed getting to know her over time. She comes to the door sometimes and we share a snack. Her daughter moved in next door to her and in a surprise bounty they both became pregnant this year and had babies. Our neighbor’s daughter had twins! We’ve enjoyed catching glimpses of the three generations and especially the three little ones.

There was some drama last week.

One of the twins turned out to be—I want to be tactful— a bit of a problem child. Maybe precocious, time will tell. The daughter did her best but perhaps didn’t watch her kids well enough or who knows what and this baby kept wandering off. The daughter had a hard time catching her. I know it’s hard to believe. This happened several times.

Finally, the daughter had enough. She ran next door to my long-term neighbor. She was at her wits end. What do I do with this kid?! My neighbor rushed out and seemed quite firm (and loud) in her assertion that her daughter needed to march herself back home and manage her own kids. Or at least that’s what I thought she said. (I was watching from my window when this went down. Wouldn’t you?)

The next day, however, I saw one of the twins at Grandma’s house. And that baby stayed there. Grandma caved and took the kid!

But being a problem/precocious child, they managed to get out of Grandma’s house. This baby was out of control.

Here is where I gained a lot of respect for my neighbor. She spent almost all day trying to teach her grandchild how to get back in the house on her own. The kid was too small (they lived in a walk up) and Grandma is petite, so it was hard for her to carry such a big baby. To her credit, the kid really stuck with it and tried to learn what Grandma was showing her. They both got tired and would take rests together, get a little snack, then give it another shot. My neighbor was a kind and patient teacher.

She eventually did get that baby safely back in the nest. Oh, was I not clear that my neighbors are squirrels? 

Dumb adorable baby squirrels and tired patient mother squirrels. Watching that baby fall out of both her nests and both mothers picking her up, tending her, and trying to teach her how to climb back in was a privileged view of animal family life. I’ve been lucky enough to watch my neighbor Mama Squirrel raise many families over the years. She fights ferociously when it’s called for. She is occasionally indulgent. (She let one baby stay in the nest way too long. A story for another time).

I recognize her and she recognizes me.

Many generations are living here in this neighborhood. This story is about squirrels. I have many others about wrens, bluebirds, cats, raccoons, opossums, bees, moths, fish etc. More human babies are around now too. I love my neighborhood village and the variety of beings who live here.

Who lives in your neighborhood?

©Mara Bishop 2026

If you’d like to be outside here for a session let me know when you schedule. If you’d like to learn how to connect with the environment where you live in personal and reciprocal ways, come and learn Enatured.