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When Sharaine and Wilson Caraballo and their six children moved from the East Coast to Texas in March of last year, one of Sharaine’s biggest concerns was who their neighbors were going to be. But soon after their arrival, their 82-year-old neighbor Paul Callahan stopped by to offer a hand to Wilson on some home repairs and Sharaine’s mind was set at ease.
Over the months, Caraballo, a retired Texas Instruments manager whose wife had passed away just a few months before the Caraballos moved into the neighborhood, became a de facto-grandpa for the Caraballo’s children. Now the neighbors see each other several times a week, and Callahan has been spending every holiday with the family.
Sharaine says that Callahan has been one of the best parts of their decision to move and the Caraballo kids have taken to calling him "Uncle Paul." Plus, it hasn’t just been good for the Caraballo family. Sharaine thinks the busy family life has provided some much-needed company for their elderly neighbor, who grew up in a lively household and is the last of his siblings still alive. The neighbors’ bond is like the Maya Angelou quote: "Family isn’t always blood, it’s the people in your life who want you in theirs.”