Effusive gratitude

@Fleura (32936)
United Kingdom
October 21, 2025 7:31am CST
We live in a little cul-de-sac of five houses and on bin day we have to take our wheelie bins to the end of the road – and then back once they’ve been emptied, obviously. We never like to leave the bins out there too long because for one thing, passers by can sometimes be tempted to drop their own rubbish in, which can be annoying especially when it’s the wrong bin (e.g. litter in the garden waste bin) and we have to get it out again, and secondly, leaving them there too long gives the impression the residents might be away from home, which is something we don’t want to advertise. So when I saw our neighbour’s bin still there a day after collection day I wheeled it back in. I thought nothing of it; isn’t that the sort of thing neighbours should do for one another? But now we have all received an email saying ‘Many thanks to the kind person who brought our black bin back to the house...Very thoughtful and much appreciated.’ This over-the-top gratitude for such a simple act is just making me uncomfortable, and making it seem like a really big deal. Previously if we had been away I would have asked one of the neighbours if they would mind bringing our bin back in, but now I feel as if it’s such a big thing that it would be a massive imposition! And as for asking for help with something more major – well I don’t think I would dare! How would you feel about being thanked so effusively? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2025.
7 people like this
7 responses
@porwest (109696)
• United States
21 Oct
Neighbors helping neighbors used to be a more common thing. Now people just keep to themselves and don't think much to help with anything. So, even the smallest thing now gets attention.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
Very true. Twenty or thirty years ago I wouldn't think anything of being asked to water a neighbour's plants or feed their cat. But another difference is that we live in a much 'posher' place now!
1 person likes this
@porwest (109696)
• United States
21 Oct
@Fleura Let me just say this, if you live in a trailer park, you are more likely for your neighbor to shoot you than help you. So, in a more "posh" neighborhood, I'd not be surprised at all if someone "went the extra mile." Just saying. lol
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
17h
@porwest Even the 'trailer parks' are quite posh around here!
@DaddyEvil (160164)
• United States
21 Oct
I wouldn't have noticed. My neighbors couldn't email me if they wanted to. I don't give my phone or email out to mere neighbors. Friends have one or both but neighbors don't need that information.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
We have all shared our contact details in case of problems like alarms going off, or if we need to warn the others about large deliveries getting in the way or that sort of thing.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (160164)
• United States
21 Oct
@Fleura I see... We all have plenty of room for deliveries. That's what driveways are for. No need for nosy neighbors to know our business. Alarms are for police to check and take care of. Again, no need for nosy neighbors to be up in our business.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
@DaddyEvil Glad you have it all sorted
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (104648)
• United States
21 Oct
I would feel good about it. A lot of people just ignore kind gestures, and act like it is their due.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
Maybe you're right and I'm reading too much into it.
1 person likes this
• China
21 Oct
I guess the reason why the neighbour sent an email was that he/she was worried lest others would say "take others' good deed for granted".
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
You could be right.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (123905)
• Marion, Ohio
21 Oct
I would just take it as a thank you
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
21 Oct
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (203975)
• United States
13h
I would have been quite flattered that someone took the time to be grateful. There's so little of that these days.
1 person likes this
@Fleura (32936)
• United Kingdom
10h
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
@JudyEv (364587)
• Rockingham, Australia
22h
Some people do go over the top with thanks but I would thank the person if I got the chance. Maybe neighbourliness is becoming more rare these days.
1 person likes this