The neighbor who waved every time you walked home alone was keeping an eye out. Wave back.

Some care is so quiet you can walk past it for years. A person at a window who notices you coming home is doing something small and real: they are making sure one more person in the world is accounted for. It would cost them nothing to look away, and they do not.

Wave first this week, or say hello by name if you know it. If you do not know it, ask. Noticing the people who notice you takes about three seconds and changes the feel of a whole street.