Nothing Brings A Neighborhood Together Like A Run on Baby Wipes

Today I spent nearly two hours looking for baby wipes, again. I’m not looking to fill a warehouse or sell them to the highest bidder. I just have a baby and well, we all know how that goes. I suppose I should have stockpiled two weeks ago when I first noticed I was running out, but to be honest it didn’t cross my mind that people might be curating collections of wipes in addition to toilet paper. Oh, and I also don’t have stockpiling as a line-item in my budget.

I’m hoping I don’t have to make my own wipes so I put out an APB on my neighborhood app, asking if anyone has the lowdown on which stores within a 20-mile radius still have wipes. And you know what I found? Definitely not any stores with wipes. I did, however, find incredible neighbors. In a matter of minutes, people I’d never met offered me a package or two of baby wipes from their own stash, and free of charge! Others offered me inside knowledge of when their local store would be getting another shipment.

Let me just stop to tell you that I live in a suburban area where each house is securely surrounded by a cinder block wall. People are friendly, but you really have to think outside the box to meet your neighbors. I’ve lived here for 8 months and today I had only met 2 neighbors.  But funny enough, social distancing might just be bringing us together. 

I decided to respond to the plethora of offers once I got home from a walk with my girls. While out, I struck up a conversation (at a socially safe distance of course) with some folks who were enjoying the afternoon sun out on their patio. We were sharing stories of Lockdown 2020 and I mentioned not being able to find wipes. This woman jumped up and said “We have wipes!” She quickly ran inside and brought out a package. After telling her I didn’t want to take her supply, she insisted I needed them more than she did and promptly put them in the undercarriage of my baby girl’s stroller. I later found out she was going to bake cookies with her daughter but didn’t have eggs. But not to worry; I have plenty!

When I got home from my walk, I had a message waiting for me from another neighbor from the app who told me she had left two packages of wipes on her porch for me to pick up. 

In less than 24 hours, I’ve met 3 neighbors I likely would not have met otherwise. And I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Funny enough, social distancing might just be bringing us together. 

Sarah Martel Lee currently lives in Phoenix, AZ and loves words - writing them, editing them, using them to tell stories and communicate ideas. In her own words she writes, “I love to find order out of chaos. I spent 10 years building a business from scratch, learning an industry that was foreign to me. And in recent years, I’ve had the privilege of walking some stellar nonprofit organizations through the business-building process. I am a wife and together we are raising three sweet little girls.”