Lawn mowed...if only the neighbors would follow suit

"Love thy neighbor"...I get it. I have tried very hard to be understanding and kind and hold my tongue. Our yard doesn't look perfect and I don't expect a landscaped piece of art for my yard or our neighborhood, but a little bit of care is certainly appreciated. My grandmother could have been hurting from every inch of her body while struggling with heart issues and a mulititude of other things, but her yard was always mowed and trimmed. She felt that your yard was a reflection of how you cared for your family and insisted on it being cared for in an appropriate way. Not everyone feels that way and that is okay. What really chaps my rear end, however, is the fact that our neighbors have taken a good solid house that was built by a great man and turned it into what looks like a meth den. A house is a living thing and needs to be constantly cared for and maintained. I don't do as much as I should, but we do our best. When something rots, we fix it. If something is dirty, we clean it. If something is in disrepair, we save our money and fix it. The house in question provides many questions from friends and family who pass by and wonder what on earth goes on over there. The lawn is over a foot high. The weeds are growing out of the driveway cracks. The house looks like it could fall apart at any time. Some days I want to go over and just mow the lawn, but that would solve NOTHING. I can feel the cycle ramping up again. Here is what we are in for in the next few months. Ready? Here we go. Step one: Someone is going to get tired of seeing the crack house look in our neighborhood so they will call codes enforcement. The third or fourth little slip of paper will be taped on their door giving them notice of so many days to clean up their yard. If you all remember correctly, I think I shared it, it was their dog that was in "disrepair" and needed to be cared for last time. That happened a couple of times and now the yard. I have never called because of what happens in step two. Step two: the offenders then go thermonuclear and hit every door on the street and cuss us all out, pointing out that it must be nice to be "rich" and have a working lawn mower and luxuries like clippers and a working rake. Threats wil be leveled that the ex husband who works for the sheriff's department will be called and we will all be sued for harrassment when NONE of us called. The few callers have turned out to be residents of other streets who were leisurely walking and reported an eyesore in the neighborhood. Step three will include the family driving by while my children are in the yard, flipping them off as they play soccer next to the driveway. Then the kids will not feel safe in their own yard. I feel like the mess is going to restart any day.

I will step off my soapbox, but not before I say this to my neighbors: swallow your pride and ask for help with your yard. When it gets much longer, that's when your yard starts having rat problems and they come visit us. That is when I will have a real problem. Clean it up for goodness sake.

Night all. Time to watch some Andy Griffith show and calm my nerves down.


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