Totally undone...
I have a pretty, little neighbor, about my age, who lives right next door to me. She has twin teenage daughters and a son about my oldest son's age. This woman never talks to me. When I see her out at Wal-Mart or just anywhere, I always say, "Hi!" to her. She always looks down and pretends that I don't exist. I know she can hear me, because I say it loud enough and smile (like I always do).
I have been at this residence for 11-years now. She and her now former husband were there in the neighborhood before me. The older woman who lived here before I purchased the house had told another neighbor next to me a story about them. This younger woman's husband pulled up her metal fence one year, because he was building a deck in the back, and... well, he didn't ask this older woman if he could. This was HER fence! He then proceeded to build a look-out tower for the kids, and that encroached on her property. Because her husband was ill, and she was busy taking care of him, this older woman didn't say anything. After her husband died, she just chose not to say anything because she knew she was going to move away at some point.
Yes, I am getting to my point! This is my issue: Last week, I DO remember my neighbor mowing the grass in the back. She is a petite and pretty little thing, and I had never seen her mow the grass before; her son has always had done it (or her husband at that time). I shrugged it off, and I got in my car to go... somewhere; I can't remember now.
When I came back, I noticed that my taller grass had a line cut out of it from my driveway, and it went clear to her yard. I didn't think of anything at that point other than, "Goodness, the boys need to mow this grass!"
Well, I said something to my youngest son. I asked him if he had planned to mow the grass, and why didn't he finish the yard (referencing to the line of mowed grass in our yard). He said that he didn't mow the grass, but he will that day. Again, I shrugged it off.
Later that day, youngest son told me that the tank was almost empty, and that he thinks that my neighbor used our lawnmower (without asking!) I was... shocked, to say the least. Hello? Hello?! Bueller?! It made sense, though. It looks as though someone started the lawnmower at our driveway, and then cut clear across our yard, and then mowed the next door neighbor's lawn! The whole thing didn't register with me until we talked about it (Okay, so I'm kinda slow...!)
I had already decided that I won't say anything to my neighbor, and that I will keep my garage close from now on. If I think about it, I'll try to lock the back garage door, too. It is just so inconvenient to do so. Brother Marty confirmed my thoughts on this matter, thankfully. Basically, I decided that she must have really needed the mower... maybe theirs broke down, or maybe they didn't have the money to get gas in their own mower. I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt. But the fact that she didn't ASK me was the weird thing.
The last time I spoke with this woman was... 11-years ago! I was the new homeowner and neighbor. She brought me into her home to show me her newly renovated home. I never did have an issue with her, but soon afterwards, she just ignored me like I was invisible. Her kids do me the same way, too. It's just very bizarre. It use to bother me, because I wondered if I had offended her in some way. Now it doesn't bother me. She just doesn't want to speak to me; I can deal with that. Worse things could happen!
I did ask one of her teenage daughters, recently, after that last major storm in July, if everyone was okay. She said they all were, and that her Mom was coming home from work soon. I was relieved that they were okay... and that she could actually see me.
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else had an experience like this, and if they did, how did they handle it? Should I have handled this differently? Should I have confronted her and state, "Listen woman, next time you need to borrow something, ask me first!" ?! I am looking forward to all of your answers.
Like Aaron stated, "At least she could have started the lawnmower in her yard; we would have never known!"
I am just perplexed... I just can't imagine being so bold. *scratching head*
I have been at this residence for 11-years now. She and her now former husband were there in the neighborhood before me. The older woman who lived here before I purchased the house had told another neighbor next to me a story about them. This younger woman's husband pulled up her metal fence one year, because he was building a deck in the back, and... well, he didn't ask this older woman if he could. This was HER fence! He then proceeded to build a look-out tower for the kids, and that encroached on her property. Because her husband was ill, and she was busy taking care of him, this older woman didn't say anything. After her husband died, she just chose not to say anything because she knew she was going to move away at some point.
Yes, I am getting to my point! This is my issue: Last week, I DO remember my neighbor mowing the grass in the back. She is a petite and pretty little thing, and I had never seen her mow the grass before; her son has always had done it (or her husband at that time). I shrugged it off, and I got in my car to go... somewhere; I can't remember now.
When I came back, I noticed that my taller grass had a line cut out of it from my driveway, and it went clear to her yard. I didn't think of anything at that point other than, "Goodness, the boys need to mow this grass!"
Well, I said something to my youngest son. I asked him if he had planned to mow the grass, and why didn't he finish the yard (referencing to the line of mowed grass in our yard). He said that he didn't mow the grass, but he will that day. Again, I shrugged it off.
Later that day, youngest son told me that the tank was almost empty, and that he thinks that my neighbor used our lawnmower (without asking!) I was... shocked, to say the least. Hello? Hello?! Bueller?! It made sense, though. It looks as though someone started the lawnmower at our driveway, and then cut clear across our yard, and then mowed the next door neighbor's lawn! The whole thing didn't register with me until we talked about it (Okay, so I'm kinda slow...!)
I had already decided that I won't say anything to my neighbor, and that I will keep my garage close from now on. If I think about it, I'll try to lock the back garage door, too. It is just so inconvenient to do so. Brother Marty confirmed my thoughts on this matter, thankfully. Basically, I decided that she must have really needed the mower... maybe theirs broke down, or maybe they didn't have the money to get gas in their own mower. I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt. But the fact that she didn't ASK me was the weird thing.
The last time I spoke with this woman was... 11-years ago! I was the new homeowner and neighbor. She brought me into her home to show me her newly renovated home. I never did have an issue with her, but soon afterwards, she just ignored me like I was invisible. Her kids do me the same way, too. It's just very bizarre. It use to bother me, because I wondered if I had offended her in some way. Now it doesn't bother me. She just doesn't want to speak to me; I can deal with that. Worse things could happen!
I did ask one of her teenage daughters, recently, after that last major storm in July, if everyone was okay. She said they all were, and that her Mom was coming home from work soon. I was relieved that they were okay... and that she could actually see me.
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else had an experience like this, and if they did, how did they handle it? Should I have handled this differently? Should I have confronted her and state, "Listen woman, next time you need to borrow something, ask me first!" ?! I am looking forward to all of your answers.
Like Aaron stated, "At least she could have started the lawnmower in her yard; we would have never known!"
I am just perplexed... I just can't imagine being so bold. *scratching head*
posted by Sandy-san at 8:22 AM
2 Comments:
I had a neighbor situation like this...but it turned out to be all innocent - just needed to use my driveway/sidewalk area as a hard flat surface to more easily start the mower. If you hadn't noticed that gas was missing, I would guess it might be the same kind of situation. But, if gas is missing, it seems pretty clear cut to me. I'll talk to you about this soon.
Thanks for your response, Sister Michelle! I thought, for sure, that others may have similar situations. But maybe not... Oh well, for now, I am not going to say anything to her, as I don't want to embarrass her.
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