Open Letter to My Potential New Neighbors

(or, a hate mail to the builders of the new housing development being built directly behind my house)

I’m sorry, but I’m probably going to hate you. It’s not you, it’s me.

I’m sure you will be nice people. There’s a good chance if you have children, our kids will play with them. We’ll probably, in time, have you over for drinks and a barbecue in our backyard.

But right now, I hate you. This is because in order to make way for your new home, trees need to come down, roads need to be paved, and a small, man-made lake needs to be dug so you can have water to gaze upon out of your lovely windows.

I’m very excited for you. I’m not, however, excited for me.

Not because I don’t get to enjoy that lake, or ride on those roads; or even for the trees. It’s because every morning, even on weekends, the plethora of earth-moving machines rumble to life and shake my house like it is a maraca.

Nothing makes you feel safer than hearing and feeling your house shaking while you are in the shower, and wondering if you are going to be standing naked, wet and soapy while your house is in rubble around you.

It’s not how I like to spend my morning, let me tell you.

I especially didn’t enjoy going out to my garage to go to work and find that the machines shaking my house had made a paint can fall of my paint shelf and explode underneath my van, leaving two large paint puddles I got to put on my tires as I backed out of my driveway.

Let’s just say that there is now a path on the ground leading straight to my door. I should thank you, it probably makes direction giving a little easier. I doesn’t, however, go with the paint scheme of my house.

Oh, and I also have congealed paint to somehow get off the garage floor. Any suggestions?

So hopefully, when I do get to finally meet you, you are cool. Or, you have a paint scraper. I’m not picky.

Sincerely,
Me, an angry neighbor.

Coming Back From Hiatus

No, I haven’t vanished. I swear.

I guess it’s time for a little truth-telling. I’m not very good at this journal thing. As a young girl, I would go to the bookstore, and I would get journals with locks, with lined paper, with funny sayings on the covers. And I would write. For about a week, maybe more. Then, in time, something would come up and I would say; “I’ll write in it tomorrow.” But tomorrow would never come.

I’m vowing to break this tradition.

I took some time off because I have taken a job. I LOVE this job. This job, after many years of doing this and trying that is what I SHOULD have been doing instead. I have wasted time and I hate that. But more importantly, I can’t talk about this job. And don’t get me wrong, some funny things happen that I would LOVE to share with you guys. But I can’t. I’m going to see if I can try to speak in generalities and see if that would be okay, but I’m not sure, and I don’t want to jeopardize what I have. So bear with me.

The other thing is because of the job, I’m tired most evenings and it takes all I have to provide a nourishing meal for my kids each night. I’m getting better and beginning to hit my stride, so…that’s why I’m coming back from hiatus.

Because I missed you.

So look for more blathering from me in the next few days. I swear.