We live on the corner, a busy corner, to be exact. There are many houses in the subdivision that I can go months maybe even years without ever passing by. We just happen to be near one of the three exits to our subdivision and therefore our house is passed by more frequently than some houses. No big deal, right. Most times the answer is yes, no big deal. The great things about our corner are the neighbors surrounding us. There is someone for each of our kids to play with on all sides it seems. Summers are terrific. Our yard has been affectionately nicknamed "Petersen Park." We don't have a fence, so the kids come and go to the swings and swimming pools freely. Summer evenings the adults wander back and forth across the street relaxing sometimes in lawn chairs set up in driveways to keep a careful eye on kids riding bikes and trikes. It has been a huge blessing for our family. We wouldn't have it any other way.
I remember about two years ago at the end of summer, well really more the beginning of fall, I was feeling very bogged down with morning sickness and caring for a toddler and kindergartner. My husband was working in the potato harvest and for some reason at that point in our marriage it still seemed like the end of the world when he was gone for those 2 weeks. I was changing a really nasty diaper and cursing under my breath about having to get down on the floor for the hundredth time and also having to smell the awful smell magnified by my morning sickness. For some reason my boys were not playing outside like always. There were inside driving me nuts. My phone rang and I waddled to find it thinking it was my husband making sure I was still alive. It was one of my neighbors. She wondered if everything was okay and if she needed to send her husband over. I was still wallowing in self-pity over my current situation and assumed she meant "you poor pregnant mommy of two young boys while their daddy is away." I think I even launched into a whole spill about "Ya, I am fine. I am just so sick, bla bla bla." There was a bit of silence on the other end. I felt embarrassed about going on and on. Then my neighbor asked if I had looked outside. I quickly opened the front door to see 3 police cruisers with what seemed like 7-10 teenagers handcuffed in strategic positions around my yard. Then I looked out my back window to see even more police vehicles and three teenagers on my back step being handcuffed. Seeing the look of horror on my face a kind, but a little impatient deputy quickly came to me to give me the run down. Basically an after school fight had been scheduled in the church parking lot that borders our back yard. The fight spilled over into our yard and bla bla bla they would be out of there as quickly as they could. I shut the door and mumbled to my neighbor on the phone something crazy and said I would call back. I quickly called my husband in hysterics and told him he better come home immediately because it was a scene from Cops in our yard.
This is a long one. I apologize. It is my therapy--give me a break.
We stayed in our jammies this morning. Everyone has different degrees of a cold or the flu. It is a dreary February day. The kitchen sink overfloweth and I haven't even put a bra on. One of THOSE days. The doorbell rang this morning and Rider raced to open it before I could give him the "don't you dare open that door" eye. I had no choice but to answer the door in all my glory. There was a nice little Bonneville County Deputy. I knew immediately the purpose of his visit. He was anxious to take care of business and be on his way. He was just as embarrassed by my appearance as I was I am sure. We have had an ongoing power struggle with an "anonymous" resident of our subdivision. He is not happy that we park our vehicle on the side of our road. Over a month ago a poor little deputy had to visit us over the same issue. The truth is that we don't really have anywhere ideal to park it right now. It isn't bothering anyone where it is currently parked except for this miserable human being. He won't let up and he keeps sending these poor deputies to my door and quite frankly they are probably wondering if I ever get dressed. We chatted and basically agreed that we are not doing anything wrong, but to keep this guy from driving everyone nuts we need to do something. Again, a phone call went in immediately to the husband. I reminded him that it is not in our family motto to be a neighborhood annoyance and something to the effect of take CARE OF IT NOW! He laughed and said I should write about it on my blog and maybe I would feel better. I hung up.
Then the final straw. My neighbor who I love and quite frankly during the summer I am happier because we talk on a daily basis while out children run wild. She knocked on my door to "see if I was okay" because "I heard there were police cars at your house." My friend from a neighboring subdivision noticed through the field that separates our subdivisions that their was a police car at our home. She called the relief society president who then called my poor friend to go immediately to my home to make sure all was well at our home. Again, I was answering my door in all my glory. It has not been an ideal day, but I am happy once again for our strategic position in this neighborhood. We are loved and watch over even if we are the neighbors with the ugly truck parked on the road. Did I ever write about the ugly truck? That is a story that needs to be told. I better do a little research and make sure I haven't already ranted about the truck. I am just waiting to see or hear from more neighbors passing by in cars or who talked to so and so and is everything okay. I better just go put on a bra.
*** This was written completely for therapy purposes. I didn't even read through it! Keep that in mind.
