There was a time when it was MY girls who had all the friends coming by – although I will say this thing about that – my girls’ friends knew how to CARPOOL! That was probably made necessary because they either a) did not yet have a license so had to come with someone who did, or b) they didn’t all have cars for whatever reason (mom and dad couldn’t afford a second vehicle or they didn’t pander to their kids as much – whatever).
Back in those long ago days I listened to you, neighbor of mine, when you called and complained about the noise or the cars or the? . . . . whatevers bothered you about my girls and their friends.
Me, cowed and mousy Moosie. I listened to you and I tried to change my girls – tried to take away their joy in their friends – asking them to come in more quietly or not all at once or whatever it was that your latest grief was.
But only to a certain point – I cherished the fact that my girls had good friends – even the ones that I might not have approved of – for whatever reason. They had a batch of pretty neat kids that came and made our home their home. And, I nearly went into the poor house to feed them – time and again. All because it made my girls happy.
THAT, dear neighbor, is why I do not come out and yell at your girls or their friends – even when their cars speed up and down the street much too fast for a neighborhood that has small children in it -?even when they park catawampus in the street so that it is very difficult for even my small car to squeeze through – even when they run up and down the street with their size 13 or better keds STOMPING on the street loudly enough for me to hear/feel it through the soles of my feet on my floor – even when they are bouncing a basketball on the road (dirt roads make as much noise as paved roads – go figure) at all hours – even when they have screeching contests/slash/water balloon/slash/shaving cream fights in the street – in your yard – in MY yard (thank you, by the way for cleaning up that mess).
I do find that it is a bit difficult for me, though. I think that I could become the kind of neighbor that just comes unglued and shouts at the kids to just shut up for goodness’ sake already! I could become that old battleaxe that kids in my day used to be afraid of/slash/made fun of.
I could –
but I’m trying very hard not to be.
Even when I remember that you complained because your babies were asleep and would my girls and their friends please tone it down. Even when I remember that you complained that your precious sleep was broken by dog barking (or whatever). Even when I remember that you are the better than everyone in the whole world just because you are and because you are married to a northroaderwiththesamelastnameasnearlyeveryothernorthroader.
Even then.
Because your girls deserve the right to have as normal a childhood as they can – despite you and despite me.
This is not a spitting contest. I concede. You win.
But it is after 10 o’clock. Do you know where YOUR kids are? Do you know what YOUR kids are doing? And, if you would, could you please ask them to tone the volume down just a teensy bit so that I can get to sleep so that I can get up in time to work out before I go to work????
thanks eversomuch.
