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My friend knows, as we all do, that eventually a fecling of comfort with her new community will come. But she maintains that "there was something special about life in Waterloo." She doesn‘t know why. "It just is," she insists. "It‘s a feeling." For now, that feeling is one of sadness for my daughter and I as we walk by the empty house that was once "Jess‘ house." I tell my child that change in life is inevitable and that it brings many wonderful and exciting things. New ideas. New concepts. New neighbours And 1 hold her hand a little tighter as we walk past the house and she tells me how much she misses her fnend Whether she is thumping the melons or picking out the potatoes, as she looks up at the face across the aisle from her, she still expects the familiar ones. The ones from home. From here. She can‘t "put her finger on it", but she says that the dilâ€" ference always becomes apparent whenever she goes to the grocery store. US. There are obvious differences in our two countries, but overall my friend insists that *people are people everyâ€" where, still Waterloo was different." Last week, my family and I spent the weekend with close friends who were longâ€"time residents of our comâ€" munity, and who have, for}hc past two years, lived in the These are the quiet builders of community. Their leayâ€" ing isn‘t really news, but shouldnt it be? As we struggle to teach our children what it means to be good citizens and consciously place community in the curriculum, we need to reflect on these quiet givers of community and reflect on how much they have ineant to us all. wml These are the people in e e e our community who have made it both friendly and familiar. The couple who held the Christmas party every year that brought * t neighbours close (and not so close) together in a uen warm gathering. The Mom in | who taught Sunday school and was always available at [WEY Y e N efiT,T2T 1 [R the drop of a hat to help out at the school (even when it was the dreaded ‘Cupcake Day‘). The neighbour you would always find behind the booth at the mall, wrapping gifts for whatever charity had asked her. The man up the street who always seemed ‘to happen by‘ with both his toolâ€"box and his strong set of arms when you were strugâ€" gling with the blasted swingâ€"set. Missing Jess Last week, my family said our goodâ€"byes to three fami lies who are leaving Waterloo for new jobs in the United States and Europe. They are part of the more than 80 fam ilies who were affected by the closure of the Hewleu Packard plant in the north end of the city. These are not desperate situations: all the families have found good jobs and many are moving to more prosperous situations What fires them all together is one common bond: they all did not want to go. As l listen to my youngest daughter (who has had two very close friends move hundreds of miles away) talk about her missing friends, the fuller meaning of what our commtinity has meant to us becomes very clear. Close friend will always be close, maintained through visits and phone calls, but time and distance will forge an irrevocaâ€" ble break with the casual neighbours, despite our IMLKING promise to "stay in touch" and write. Lisa O‘Connell The house looks the same. The windows are covered by the familiar curtains. The kawn is cut and neat. But they‘re gone. Have been for five days now. And they will sull be gone five days from now, and five days after that. While most of these columns are about who and what we are in our community, this one is about what we have lost and how we are changing. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #1 36379 Published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group A drvision of Southam Inc July 8, 1998 WATERLOO CHRONICLE