Johnnie & Jasmin, Who Are My Neighbors (Part 1)

The text from Jasmin, who is my neighbor, reads: Hi! We’re available any time today when you wanna stop by.It is a very hot August afternoon when I ring the bell at Johnnie and Jasmin’s front door. A lovely cool whoosh envelopes me as I step out of the bright sunlight into the shade of their entryway. Soon I’m seated in a comfortable chair directly in front of a quietly humming air purifier. This is my first interview in a neighbor’s home. We are all fully vaccinated and sitting across the room from each other.From his play area, twelve-month old Sabastian oversees the backyard where Franco, a white fluff of a dog, runs laps around the pool. Johnnie and Jasmin ask me how the project is going. I tell them how close I am to completion—just one more house! Their interest means a lot.“So,” I say, “I'm asking people to tell me two stories.” If you’ve been following along, you know what I said. “First, tell me the story of moving into this house that makes us neighbors.” Johnnie says, “Okay.” “And second, would you tell me the story of life in your house during the pandemic?”Jasmin says quietly, “ I'll let Johnny talk, cuz I'm not a talker. And then I'll chime in if I need to.” I nod. Johnnie begins.

Taking care

“Well, it was a few years ago. When was it? Three years ago? 2018. We were actually living at my grandmother's house helping taking care of her and my grandfather. That was what Jasmine was doing for about a year.”“And where was that?” I ask. “In East LA,” Johnnie answers. I nod and remember how I wondered, at the time, if they would settle in or just come to swim.Johnnie says, “We were driving back and forth, and actually not living here for the first six months—except on the weekends to just kind of do some painting and preparing before we brought our furniture in. That was actually really helpful, because usually you got to move in, and you got to deal with all the clutter as well as trying to make it your home. Then eventually we moved in here full time."Curious, I ask, “What made you choose Riverside?” “The price had a lot to do with it. Actually, we originally were looking at some houses in Jurupa. I know Jasmin liked them a lot—they’re all new houses. And I looked at them and thought to myself, 'Who's going to buy these houses that are super affordable?’ — because they were actually super affordable. ‘And what are they going to be like in like 10 years?'”

Measured and thoughtful

Jasmin's New Homeowner Announcement (used by permission)

Who is my neighbor Johnnie? Someone who looks to the future; someone with a measured and thoughtful nature. He goes on, “You don't know your neighbors because it's basically a strip of houses and just a bunch of people looking at the models. And then you just...you're taking your chances.” I sense that he cares about stability and putting down deep roots.Johnnie reaches behind the sofa where’s he’s seated. “These are some sturdy walls. New houses are not like this,” he says with confidence. Jasmin agrees. “They're the worst! They break fast,” she says. Johnnie tells me that better quality materials were used in this house. “I just feel like this is a good old house that has some good bones. And I like the fact that, you know, the Millers lived here for as long as they did. That meant a lot to me, too.” Jasmin explains, “Because they took care of their home.”“So basically it had a lot of curb appeal,” he says about the house they’ve made their home. “And the neighborhood seemed very, very quiet: cul de sac, school at the end of the street. The best part for me was having a pool for the first time. Being able to enjoy the weekends in the water, and some friends and family coming over every now and then as well,” he says with evident satisfaction. 

It was very dated

“Unfortunately, Jasmin didn't like the house itself because it was very dated.” “Yeah!” says Jasmin with warmth. Johnnie continues, “We haven't completely made all our renovations that we want to do. We've just put some lipstick and some stuff to make it look pretty-ish and feel comfortable for ourselves.”Jasmin has more than a little flare when it comes to making a house a pretty, comfortable home. See pictures below.[gallery columns="1" size="full" type="slideshow" ids="9097,9098"] I ask, “What would you like to do, Jasmine?”“I definitely want to get the kitchen done. That's where I spend most of my time. That stove is so old! I only have one burner that works. The other ones work too, but only on the highest level, so on Thanksgiving, it's the worst! And then the oven—it loses its heat if you open it a couple of times. So Thanksgiving turkey takes six to seven hours, sometimes.”Johnnie also points to the popcorn ceiling. I glance up as he mentions this update on their list. As their budget allows, Jasmin also wants to renovate the fireplace and mantle. Looking at the fireplace I stand and move toward a framed family portrait. “This is a beautiful picture over the mantelpiece.”

A blended family

Jasmin beams, “That's all our kids and my granddaughter.” Johnnie echos, “Our kids and our one granddaughter.” The warmth of their shared pride fills the room. “Wait,” I say, stepping closer to the photograph, “Is that Sebastian in the middle? This is so recent!” “Yes,” they smile and say together. “So you’ve got a blended family,” I say. “When you moved in, how many people moved in with you?”Jasmin answers, “Just me and John.” He says, “Just us two.”Of the all the smiling faces in the photo, only the two of them moved into the house. “That's amazing,” I say.“Isn't that crazy?” Jasmin asks. “We had a home in Rowland Heights and I had lost my job [after] five years.” She tells me that Johnnie’s ex-wife had a job opportunity in Arizona and asked to take the kids with her—just for a year. Jasmin says, “It was a hard decision, obviously, because Arizona is so far. But we decided, ‘Okay, let her have her career out there. Maybe it's good for the kids, a change.’ Then I had said, ‘Well, we'll take care of your grandparents for one year so that we can save up to buy a house. So that was originally the plan.”Who is my neighbor Jasmin? Someone who finds ways to work with existing circumstances as she loves and connects with family.

More than expected

“It was a lot more than what I expected,” she says honestly. “24/7,” Johnnie says. She goes on, “And it was two older people and it was changing diapers, diabetes care, checking high blood pressure. Me, by myself. It was very hard. You go in thinking, 'I'm going to help and I want to be a blessing.' But it was a lot more than I could handle. “By the ninth month I had told his mom, 'I can't do this anymore. I'm exhausted. My back is going out. I haven't seen my kids,’ because they stay[ed] with their dad. By the time all of that ended, we got our house and the kids were almost finished with their high school. They were like, ‘Mom, I don't want to come to Riverside because my school is here and my friends are here.’”“I was so sad and so depressed because we got this big house for them, and it didn't end up being for them—at the time.”

Full house

Then Jasmin brightens, “But now the kids want to be here! I'm just like, ‘Oh my god!’ We went from no kids to Sebastian and then Darla is here. Sonny might come back—I'm not 100% sure. My sister's daughter's living with us now.” “So you have a full house!” I exclaim picking up on her delight. “A little bit,” Johnnie dead-pans. “Yeah, a little bit.” His delivery tips me into a belly laugh. Jasmin smiles, “But even though I didn't like the house, I love the house. You understand what I mean? Like, at the moment, I wanted more... Like the kitchen was so important to me. But it's okay because we're gonna work on that. This is a perfect house for my son. He has all this space, he has the pool here. We have more neighbors. And now it's really,” she pauses and then says, “I just felt like we're gonna make it our own.”Johnnie agrees, “ Yeah, it's a good place to live, for sure.”

A good place to live. A place to make our own.

Whichever neighbor’s face looks into mine, whatever their origin story for moving to this street, these words—in one form or—always bubble up.

It is a reliable refrain that never gets old. Each person reveals some texture or color of their personal definition of HOME. Every one-of-a-kind heart sighs with this longing, and sings when this desire is fulfilled. 

Who Is My Neighbor?

Someone who crafts their particular meaning of

home

in a context of community. Who else is my neighbor? Each person who slows down and pays attention to another, who extends dignity to the lived experiences of someone else by listening to them—you are my neighbor.

Thanks for stopping by. I’m grateful for you,