Neighbors

We live in a quaint little area - lots of farm fields, houses close to each other but not right on top of each other, decent sized yards and mostly nice neighbors. Truly - I have some of the greatest neighbors, but we also have one of the world's worst neighbors. Unfortunately there's nothing to be done about the horrible neighbor situation as we own our house and they own their house.

Rolling back the clock to roughly 10 years ago, when we first looked at purchasing this house. It had been empty for quite a few years, was about to go to foreclosure. The house was mostly maintained - the grass cut only 2 times each summer. Being empty one of the neighbors took it upon themselves to use the parking for the shed as if it was their own, and that the gravel lane that is a common way - was their own personal driveway.

Along comes Mel & Gene, purchasing the house and making it our own. With some unwanted advice from the most lovely neighbors.

My first interaction with the lady next door - Me trying to sleep on the couch downstairs. I'd been in severe pain for days (a few weeks) and had been "working thru it"while we were moving, packing, etc. To a loud, non stop banging on my front door. Just to be told in no uncertain terms, that we need to turn off our kitchen light early or close the curtains/blinds because the light goes right into her bedroom window and she likes to sleep with her curtains open to see the night sky. My response (as Gene says) was so out of the norm. I just said "ok" and closed the door. WTH....I guess I didn't fully process what she was saying or demanding at the time. Any other time I would have given her a full blown, my house I'll do what I please response. My gallbladder/emergency surgery had me totally off to say the least! To this day, we have yet to have a nice/cordial conversation with the lady next door.

We would progress down the road of her being nasty, me standing my ground, her son being an ass, Gene calling the cops, etc. Inside our house, we would agonize over the best way to deal with such a "Karen". Ultimately we didn't do anything about it. We just take the notes that get taped to our front door read them, ball them up and toss them right into the trash.

We've been told to use the other commonway (down the end of the road) instead of the one right next to our house, we need to trim our bushes that are set back from the common way because they are a nuisance, we need to cut down the trees in our yard that drop their leaves every fall (somehow nature and where the leaves drop/blow from the wind is in our control)- trees that have been here for 60+years and these notes are always addressed to Melissa. I still haven't figured out who exactly Melissa is...

There was one time she left a note to trim the bushes (that I planted to provide privacy from our hours windows to their house windows), and I needed to get the grass cut before it rained. So I get home from work, start cutting the grass and she comes over into my yard yelling that she said to trim the bushes not cut the grass. I absolutely lost it. I stopped cutting grass long enough to say "I'll trim the bushes when I fucking want to, I have other things that I need to get done before the rain" and went back to cutting the grass. Gene, clueless was like you didn't have to be nasty. So I told him, I got her passive aggressive note on the door, she doesn't have to come tell me in person what to do. It's not her house or yard. Back then and still to this day - if you don't pay the mortgage, contribute to the bills for our household you have NO say in how/when/what we do to our property. I don't care who you are.

So here we are again, she leaves a note to trim the bushes. Although, she left this note while I was outside cutting the grass, and had the nerve to say we never answer when she knocks. HELLO no one is obligated to answer their door. Not to mention I was outside, and maybe just maybe we didn't hear you knocking. Gene gives me the note, I read it, crumpled it and threw it onto the floor I was sweeping.

24 hours later - I'm outside pulling weeds, on the phone talking to someone. She comes over, can clearly see I'm on the phone and continues to stand there. I don't stop my call because really, I have nothing to say to her, and all she wants to do is tell me what to do with my yard. So she says I'll help you pull weeds...uh, thanks? I continue my phone call, she finally walks away and starts talking shit. So I tell my friend to hold on, call out April what's your F'in problem? She wanted me to literally get off the phone so she could thank me for trimming the bushes ( which I didn't actually do and had no intentions of doing). Then accused me of not acknowledging that she was there. So when I was like oh - you scared me. That wasn't enough. She then proceeded to tell me how rude I was for not getting off the phone. Hmmm...you come into MY yard, where you aren't invited, linger when you realize I am actually busy, get mad that you aren't my priority and I'm rude?

I mean, I don't need her thanks for me doing my yard work, I don't need her telling me what to do and when to do it. I'm a grown adult and have been managing fine without supervision.

While I feel slightly bad for not being the nicest to her this time around, she's the person if you give and inch they take the literal foot.

So, to everyone out there - we all have neighbors, we may not like them, but remember that first interaction sets the tone for the rest of your time as neighbors. Maybe if she had approached us a little nicer the first time, things wouldn't be like they are now.

One of these days I'll write about the awesome guy across the street. Who keeps saying he's moving to the farm, and I reply no you're not!

Till our tails cross again,

Mel