Neighborly

There have been some strange and inconsiderate behaviors going on in my neighborhood lately. Maybe I'm the only one to notice. Maybe it's always been this way and I've just become more of a cranky bitch - this is a possibility I suppose.

Also, I might just say that in general I really like my neighborhood and actually love some of my neighbors. Some of them, though, I just don't get. I think that everyone should remember that they live close to other humans, and afford them the same treatment that they themselves like to enjoy. Not a revolutionary thought, I don't think.

Lately, at night, there's been a decent amount of barking dogs. Loud dogs and constant barking. This I don't understand at all. Before writing me off as a dog hater, please know that I am a friend of animals and of animal lovers. The part I don't understand is why you would just leave your dog outside to bark and bark and why you would think that it's ok for a) your dog and b) everyone around you who has to listen to it. Why? I ask, why?

The guy next door goes outside at 8pm every single night and chases his dog around, wrestles with him and gets him totally wound up, barking and yapping at top volume. Now, look, I am a working parent too and I completely respect the fact that he enjoys silly playtime with his furry pal. It looks really fun and relaxing. But why at 8 o'clock every night?  Could he do this at 6 or 7 or even 7:30? Does he not know, or not care, that we have a little one with a bedtime, and her bedroom window borders his yard? I just wonder what he thinks.

It's not just dogs with this guy, either. His barbeque is in the closest corner to our house as possible. It's not one of those nice polite barbeques, it's one of those super smoky numbers. I am not a meteorologist but if I was, maybe I would understand why the smoke only goes in one direction every night, and that is the direction of our house.

The smell of smoke and mystery meat completely saturates our house if we have even one window cracked. When it's hot outside, we, like most humans, try to catch a breeze through the window to cool things off. We also built this rad deck that we might like to enjoy in the warm evenings. Our enjoyment of the evening time is completely ruined by his barbeque smoke. If that were my barbeque and every time I fired it up (every single night) I saw my neighbors retreat into their house and slam all the windows and doors, I would honestly take note and maybe just move it away from their house a little. Just a little. To be considerate.

I know what you're thinking. I am thinking it too. If we just mentioned our grievances to our neighbor, who by all other accounts is a pretty nice guy, he probably would take note and he might even adjust some of these strange behaviors. We aren't bad people, either, but maybe we are just a little too passive aggressive for our own good.

When you have a problem, there are really just two paths to take. One path is to address it like an adult and move on. The other path, not as healthy, is just to suck it up and shut yer pie hole. I'm not proud of this. Maybe I should just say something, just to be neighborly.