Gah...
Last night just after 9:00, I heard all sorts of crazy ruckus against the side of our house. It sounded like stuff being dragged, maybe across the neighbour's deck. I looked outside and saw a vehicle home. The noise continued for a little longer and then I could hear the boys talking outside. There are 3 boys next door, the oldest being about 11 or 12. Anyway, I went outside to see if they were in our yard (which had been a problem in summer) and found instead they were on top of our shed roof, sliding off it onto their deck! :-O The conversation went as follows:
Me - What the hell are you doing??
*silence* One of the boys was on the shed, the other was standing on their deck out of my sight.
Me - Get off there right now!
*slowly slides off*
Me - This shit stops now!
I didn't mind swearing at them because I always hear the oldest one saying far, far worse.
I was furious. Besides the fact they were on our fucking property (AGAIN!), they could get hurt and their stupid parents could try to sue us. Initially I thought I would go try to speak to their mom. However, they've been living there since spring or early summer and in all that time, I've only seen mom twice and never with the boys. The boys, however, are oftentimes outside playing in their yard, on other people's property, down the street, etc. It's great they're outside, but respect other people's property. So with that, I thought speaking to mom might be futile and she might tell me to stop telling her how to parent (not my intention) and it would embarrass the boys. So then I thought I should go try speaking to the boys with a parent there so I could apologize for yelling and tell them I'm concerned for their safety so please don't do it again. That way it teaches them that I am respecting them like small adults. I would also offer to pay them to clear the snow from our driveway and walkway.
It's pretty easy for me to confront people when I'm mad and full of rage. This, coming from a place of concern, is harder for me to confront a stranger about. It makes me feel small, shy, and also the unknown of how is the parent going to react to some stranger complaining about their kids?
Seeing the same vehicle in the driveway and lights on, I went over around 6:30 tonight. I rang their (broken) doorbell. No answer. I tried knocking. I heard some cutlery and the boys talking, but no parent. No one answered the door. I tried knocking again. Nothing.
I figured I would either try again later or simply leave it. If it happens again, I'd not hesitate in talking to the parents.
Funny enough, I just heard everyone pile in the car and leave. Nice that they all completely ignored the door when I went over there.
Me - What the hell are you doing??
*silence* One of the boys was on the shed, the other was standing on their deck out of my sight.
Me - Get off there right now!
*slowly slides off*
Me - This shit stops now!
I didn't mind swearing at them because I always hear the oldest one saying far, far worse.
I was furious. Besides the fact they were on our fucking property (AGAIN!), they could get hurt and their stupid parents could try to sue us. Initially I thought I would go try to speak to their mom. However, they've been living there since spring or early summer and in all that time, I've only seen mom twice and never with the boys. The boys, however, are oftentimes outside playing in their yard, on other people's property, down the street, etc. It's great they're outside, but respect other people's property. So with that, I thought speaking to mom might be futile and she might tell me to stop telling her how to parent (not my intention) and it would embarrass the boys. So then I thought I should go try speaking to the boys with a parent there so I could apologize for yelling and tell them I'm concerned for their safety so please don't do it again. That way it teaches them that I am respecting them like small adults. I would also offer to pay them to clear the snow from our driveway and walkway.
It's pretty easy for me to confront people when I'm mad and full of rage. This, coming from a place of concern, is harder for me to confront a stranger about. It makes me feel small, shy, and also the unknown of how is the parent going to react to some stranger complaining about their kids?
Seeing the same vehicle in the driveway and lights on, I went over around 6:30 tonight. I rang their (broken) doorbell. No answer. I tried knocking. I heard some cutlery and the boys talking, but no parent. No one answered the door. I tried knocking again. Nothing.
I figured I would either try again later or simply leave it. If it happens again, I'd not hesitate in talking to the parents.
Funny enough, I just heard everyone pile in the car and leave. Nice that they all completely ignored the door when I went over there.