Revenge...in a passive/aggressive way.

I don't like my neighbors.

I'm ashamed to say it because I've really prayed about loving my neighbors and serving my neighbors and caring about my neighbors. Really, I have! I know that they are all God's creation and even if they are jerks (to put it nicely) they too were made in the image of God and Jesus died for them too. Even if they don't act like it.

I should put my disclaimer here: The neighbors I'm talking about aren't the Jones'. Those are the neighbors I love easily and don't want to move away from. The neighbors I'm talking about are the ones who have a billion (so it seems) delinquent children and who deal drugs. Those are the neighbors I'm having a difficult time loving.

I'm totally trying to justify my behavior right now. I know I am.

Anyways, these neighbors are just pushing all of our buttons as much as they can. The teenagers ride their skateboards in the street. That is not a big deal. I would rather them be in the street than run over my toddler on the sidewalk. It's the giant ramp they put in the middle of the road and the middle finger plus obscenities they say to me when I drive down the road and honk at them to move (after sitting there for a few seconds waiting for them to move their stuff). These kids literally stare at me and stand in front of my car! They refuse to move! So, I have started refusing to brake...we'll see who wins between my 1983 piece of crap car and their skateboard. As I said, I'm being passive aggressive.

The kids also sit on the cars which are parked on the street. I know my 1983 Toyota is nothing to be impressed with, but it's my car. Sam and I paid for that car with our own money and I don't want kids climbing on my car. I may be irrational here, but footprints do not belong on the roof of a car. The Jones' called the cops on the kids for that one and they got tickets for loitering. I had nothing to do with that, but it still felt good.

Finally, the kids (and their parents--at least I think it's the parents, I'm never sure, could be older brothers?) run all around our neighborhood with their air soft guns shooting each other with pellets and cussing at each other. Even the little 7 year old is yelling, "F" this and "F" that. I understand running around playing, but shooting air soft guns?! C'mon! The last straw was when they ran by me and Nathaniel shooting. My kid is 2! Pellets hurt!

So, instead of being parents, the adults in those families have started retaliating to the calls to the cops. Instead of disciplining their children they are "playing the game". They will park their cars so that there is half a car length between them, leaving less space for us to park. They discourage their children from staying off of the parked cars, even when asked to move by the owners (hence the cops giving out loitering/trespassing tickets).

Tonight I retaliated in my own way. I squeezed my little Toyota into a spot that a normal car can't get into (we're talking maybe two inches between me and the other cars) and happily walked away while the owners of the car I blocked in were cursing at me for blocking their car in.

Suck it neighbors!!

Wow, I need to repent. I suppose it's better than keying their car. And if my Toyota gets keyed, oh well. The rust spots will cover it up. Besides, I've had worse done to my car by these people (I guess I forgot to mention the chewed up gum that's been thrown on my car, by the adults since the kids were all at school at the time).

*sigh* I suck. :(