For us, this summer started in an unexpected place: New York City. By sheer luck, we found ourselves there for the Knicks’ Game 5 win, and what unfolded afterward had very little to do with basketball. Thousands of strangers poured into the streets, hugging, laughing, high-fiving complete strangers. The city felt lighter. For a few hours, everyone belonged to the same celebration. The sense of communal joy was palpable.
Since then, we’ve watched that same feeling ripple across neighborhoods during the World Cup. By the time this issue reaches your mailbox, a champion will have been crowned. But in many ways, the winner isn’t the point.
For weeks, we’ve gathered in living rooms, parks, and patios with people whose backgrounds, languages, and life experiences may be completely different from our own. We’ve cheered for the underdogs, our home countries, adopted new favorites, learned a little geography, and discovered that joy sounds remarkably similar in every any language.
Maybe that’s what we’ve all been craving.
For all our differences, it turns out we’re still looking for the same thing: a reason to stand shoulder to shoulder with people we don’t know, and feel, even for a moment, like we’re on the same team.
The World Cup will end. The flags will come down. Life will speed back up.
But I hope we hang on to the reminder that the best parts of community have never been about agreeing on everything. They’ve always been about finding something worth celebrating together. See you on the pitch!
Your neighbors,
Shaleen and Sam DeStefano