I am sure you are asking yourself, "There can't be more to this story, can there?" Well yes, there is. Trying to love your neighbor as yourself is a hard mandate especially when my neighbor is doing things to me that I wouldn't dream of doing to them. So first was the dogs, second the noise...and now, more noise.
As I mentioned, my son was having a hard time, a very hard time getting a decent night's sleep due to the disturbances of the Dingleberries. The next thing we noticed was - They appeared to stay up most of the night. The children, I kid you not, would be outside playing at 10:00 p.m. Noise carries easily on the nightwind. Whoever might be outside would shout and yell at the top of their voice. There are many times we can hear very clearly what they are fighting about to one another. Hoo boy...
I had to leave due to a family emergency. While I am gone, my son tells me they have now set a tent up and have a TV playing upwards to 1:00 a.m. My poor son...I wish so desperately I could move him away from here and away from such people. I keep telling him prayer works. Keep praying. There must be some reason. I get back home and sure enough. There's a tent. Every day, a woman totes a cooler and set it right outside. You can hear the TV playing. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, whatever game or show she is watching. I just shake my head and tell my son, "If you have to come sleep on the couch in the living room, that would be better than just lying here getting no sleep."
My husband tells me, "I met the neighbor again." They supposedly have some arrangement about the dogs and he is to call if the dogs are over here. No name or number though...so he is at work and, of course, the usual happens. The dogs are here. One, a big German Shepherd, is standing right outside my sliding glass door. I open the door and yell, "Go home." The dog just turns and looks at me. No fear, after looking at me for a few minutes, it turns and goes home.
My friend, who is very good at dealing with 'difficult' people, tells me this is a typical response of a dog abused or one that is used to being yelled at all the time. Well, they supposedly rescuing 'pit bulls'. I think with the behavior they have been showing, they are the last people who should be rescuing pit bulls. Anyhow, the way she described the reactions matched perfectly with the reaction that the dog gave. "What? What'd I do wrong now? Your yelling at me too? Geez, can't a dog just go do whatever without getting yelled at?" So I'm not yelling at the dogs anymore. Poor dogs. They have to live with them. I only have to live by them.
Now, they have an RV, a pretty nice one too, backed up to our property line...It appears they are either having company or some family member is staying there in a nice, older RV, while the TV plays, the dogs roam, and they sleep all day and play all night. It really doesn't appear that either of them work.
After the dog being right outside my door, I called the cops. I wanted to know if I had any recourse with no leash laws, no noise ordinances...They did tell me that if the dogs came at us in any threatening way, we could defend ourselves. Once again, an animal having to be put down because of a stupid human. Nothing they could do about the noise. Geeze, whatever happened to manners, common decency, respect, being neighborly, oh yeah, it's all relative. Morality doesn't count anymore.
In the meantime, I keep reading my Bible. I keep praying for my neighbor who surely seems to be my enemy. Love, love I am learning to redefine in my vocabulary what 'to love' actually means. I think our definition of love is very different from God's definition of love. Every day I ask the Lord to help me love 'The Dingleberries'. Hmmm, maybe I need to re-evaluate that one. You know how they say, "never pray for patience.."Maybe I need to quit asking God how to love the Dingleberries. :0
Anyhow, as I have said before, I blog when I am frustrated. Well, I am frustrated. I try to mind my own business, keep my nose out of my neighbor's business, and generally let live and likewise, they do the same. Well, I think I have met the one exception. And, at what point, is it acceptable to tell them, "no more." You've crossed a boundary. Even Jesus confronted the pharisees. Can I say too it really upset me to have to call the cops on my neighbor. I mean, my mother had just died. My emotions were still pretty raw, and then this. I was balling my eyes out and I'm not one to ball my eyes out even over the fact that I have just dealt with losing my mother.
I have to say the policeman was wonderful. He was very understanding especially of the fact that usually I am the one dealing with this mess because my husband is out working a job. I have to say, the neighbors have been quieter since I called the police. The dogs have only been over here about twice a week as opposed to every day. The tent was moved so the noise is not so readily floating on the wind to come floating into our house. Hmmmm, maybe I should have loved my neighbor sooner. Sometimes, love is hard and corrective, not soft and fluffy.
As I mentioned, my son was having a hard time, a very hard time getting a decent night's sleep due to the disturbances of the Dingleberries. The next thing we noticed was - They appeared to stay up most of the night. The children, I kid you not, would be outside playing at 10:00 p.m. Noise carries easily on the nightwind. Whoever might be outside would shout and yell at the top of their voice. There are many times we can hear very clearly what they are fighting about to one another. Hoo boy...
I had to leave due to a family emergency. While I am gone, my son tells me they have now set a tent up and have a TV playing upwards to 1:00 a.m. My poor son...I wish so desperately I could move him away from here and away from such people. I keep telling him prayer works. Keep praying. There must be some reason. I get back home and sure enough. There's a tent. Every day, a woman totes a cooler and set it right outside. You can hear the TV playing. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, whatever game or show she is watching. I just shake my head and tell my son, "If you have to come sleep on the couch in the living room, that would be better than just lying here getting no sleep."
My husband tells me, "I met the neighbor again." They supposedly have some arrangement about the dogs and he is to call if the dogs are over here. No name or number though...so he is at work and, of course, the usual happens. The dogs are here. One, a big German Shepherd, is standing right outside my sliding glass door. I open the door and yell, "Go home." The dog just turns and looks at me. No fear, after looking at me for a few minutes, it turns and goes home.
My friend, who is very good at dealing with 'difficult' people, tells me this is a typical response of a dog abused or one that is used to being yelled at all the time. Well, they supposedly rescuing 'pit bulls'. I think with the behavior they have been showing, they are the last people who should be rescuing pit bulls. Anyhow, the way she described the reactions matched perfectly with the reaction that the dog gave. "What? What'd I do wrong now? Your yelling at me too? Geez, can't a dog just go do whatever without getting yelled at?" So I'm not yelling at the dogs anymore. Poor dogs. They have to live with them. I only have to live by them.
Now, they have an RV, a pretty nice one too, backed up to our property line...It appears they are either having company or some family member is staying there in a nice, older RV, while the TV plays, the dogs roam, and they sleep all day and play all night. It really doesn't appear that either of them work.
After the dog being right outside my door, I called the cops. I wanted to know if I had any recourse with no leash laws, no noise ordinances...They did tell me that if the dogs came at us in any threatening way, we could defend ourselves. Once again, an animal having to be put down because of a stupid human. Nothing they could do about the noise. Geeze, whatever happened to manners, common decency, respect, being neighborly, oh yeah, it's all relative. Morality doesn't count anymore.
In the meantime, I keep reading my Bible. I keep praying for my neighbor who surely seems to be my enemy. Love, love I am learning to redefine in my vocabulary what 'to love' actually means. I think our definition of love is very different from God's definition of love. Every day I ask the Lord to help me love 'The Dingleberries'. Hmmm, maybe I need to re-evaluate that one. You know how they say, "never pray for patience.."Maybe I need to quit asking God how to love the Dingleberries. :0
Anyhow, as I have said before, I blog when I am frustrated. Well, I am frustrated. I try to mind my own business, keep my nose out of my neighbor's business, and generally let live and likewise, they do the same. Well, I think I have met the one exception. And, at what point, is it acceptable to tell them, "no more." You've crossed a boundary. Even Jesus confronted the pharisees. Can I say too it really upset me to have to call the cops on my neighbor. I mean, my mother had just died. My emotions were still pretty raw, and then this. I was balling my eyes out and I'm not one to ball my eyes out even over the fact that I have just dealt with losing my mother.
I have to say the policeman was wonderful. He was very understanding especially of the fact that usually I am the one dealing with this mess because my husband is out working a job. I have to say, the neighbors have been quieter since I called the police. The dogs have only been over here about twice a week as opposed to every day. The tent was moved so the noise is not so readily floating on the wind to come floating into our house. Hmmmm, maybe I should have loved my neighbor sooner. Sometimes, love is hard and corrective, not soft and fluffy.
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