Neighbors
HH and I are rejoicing. Our property is deep. It runs from the street in front of our house to the street in back of the house. Long and narrow. But it means that no one lives behind us. When we sit at our kitchen table, we have a great view. The neighbors on both sides of our back lot put up privacy fences, so we don’t even see their backyards. Which is a good thing. Because the neighbors on the right are conscientious and take good care of their yard. The newer neighbors on the left are a nightmare.
Everyone who lived in that house previously were dream neighbors. Friendly. Nice. Took good care of the house and yard. These people? I’ve never met them, but they only mow the grass after the city comes out and puts up a sign that they mow or pay a fine. They throw trash in their front yard. A dead mattress rested there for months. It hurts to look at their property. And trees sprouted all along their privacy fence. It was just sad. They got cats…and didn’t feed them….so they came to our house, meowing for food. (We have a cat, and they must have thought we’d be a soft touch. We were. I couldn’t stand seeing how their sides caved in so I give them Friskies gravy wet cat food every morning).
For some reason, ANY reason, all of a sudden, their front yard looks presentable. They’ve picked up all the trash, mowed the grass for winter, and the front of their house looks nice. It’s a Christmas miracle. And we love it.
In my Jazzi and Ansel WIP, I decided to give Jazzi and Ansel awful neighbors. The older couple who lived next door to them sell their house to retire and move to Florida. The new people who move in are horrible. Five kids with no manners and no rules. Parents with no manners and no respect for property lines. Ansel, who’s usually really easy-going, can’t stand them. He comes home to find their kids swimming in the pond he built behind their house with no supervision, no one to make sure the kids stay where it’s shallow. He walks the kids home and tells the parents it’s not safe to let them play in the water alone, only to find the kids there again the next day. Unsupervised.
It’s been sort of fun to take something that’s rankled HH and me and add to my story. People in our neighborhood have always taken care of their property. I don’t know how many times people have called on the neighbors behind us, but nothing seems to make much difference. I don’t know why they’ve decided to clean up their front yard now, but I hope it lasts. It’s nice to look over at their house without wincing.
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