I want to tell a story about love and sacrifice; beauty and pain; community and heartbreak. Our neighbors are the heroes of this tale, and the fields, schools, kitchens and yards of Waterford are the stage.

Four years ago, during the summer of 2016 our family touched down in Waterford after a three-year tour with the military in Germany. Exhausted and disoriented, we were eager to settle in and make a home where the Navy had planted us.

The kids were 9, 8, and 5 ... set to start fourth grade, third grade and kindergarten at Great Neck Elementary.

Enter the teachers and staff who heard our fears and homesickness and invited us into a world of warmth and belonging. That first year the kids brought home hilarious stories of classroom dance parties, lost teeth in the nurse’s office, reading victories and the beginnings of deep friendships. We were greeted that first school year with an ice cream social and sent off with spirit week and field day and new friends.

Over the next two years, the roots continued to grow and deepen their hold. Coaches and pastors and friends were woven into the beautiful fabric of our family’s life. Adults who would teach and encourage and love the kids and partner with us in the work of raising good people.

The soccer and lacrosse fields and basketball courts of this town are powerful stages: good, good people volunteer their time to teach our kids to be great teammates, to handle defeat with grace, to respect their opponents, to honor their coaches and referees and to find joy in giving a full effort towards a goal.

We know that no one in this house is headed to the Olympics, but the gifts of the parent-coaches of this town who have poured themselves into our kids are worth far more than gold.

We found a church that promised to be the family we didn’t have near us and then kept that promise over and over again. From the moment we walked into Anchor Church, we were literally wrapped in welcoming, loving hugs.

We were honored to serve the community by their side and receive their faithful loving prayer over our lives.

The years flew by, as they do for young families, and our two-year orders were extended to a third and then took a surprising and challenging turn in the fourth.

On Mother’s Day 2019, Christopher left for a 12-month deployment to Djibouti, Africa. We were heartbroken.

But this is the moment that you, our neighbors, became our heroes. Let me share a few of the ways you stepped into our struggle:

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You fed us in all numerous ways: delivered meals, took us out with your families, invited us into your homes and dropped off bottles of wine at my door!

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An entire faith community has been in consistent prayer for us and for Christopher’s safety. You remind our kids that they are loved and never alone.

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One of you took in all three of our kids for an entire weekend so Christopher and I could get away together before he deployed.

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One of you cared for the kids so I could attend a dear friend’s funeral service and then stayed up through the night when the youngest became so, so sick.

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You carved elaborate, personalized pumpkins for our family and left them on our front steps to surprise us all!

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So many carpools. Almost nightly during any given sports season, you sent me texts offering to ferry the kids to and from games and practices.

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Teachers and staff at Great Neck and Clark Lane became my parenting partners, my arms and voice to hug and comfort the kids while they were in your care.

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You sat next to me on the freezing sidelines and hard benches of sports fields to cheer on kids that were not even your own!

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You included me and invited me and checked in on me and made me laugh and feel loved.

And now we are in the sunset of our time here in Waterford. Christopher will be home soon, and in July our family is headed on to our next adventure in Naples, Italy. The COVID-19 quarantine has turned our farewell into something entirely different than we could have imagined. Our paths will not cross this spring on soccer and lacrosse fields or at end-of-school events, and I won’t be able to properly (and knowing me, emotionally) express my gratitude to those who have carried us these past years.

Instead I share this story of selfless, creative, generous neighbors who fill this community with goodness and love. I hope you feel both lucky and proud to have helped create such a place.

Maybe you will be inspired, like I have been, to look for ways you can help welcome the next newcomer and weave your life together with another’s. When you see beauty and generosity in another person, I hope you stop and notice it and say thank you. This is our family’s thank you to you, Waterford. You have changed us forever.

Stacey Greer lives in Waterford.

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