Originally Posted by Textcritic
This is closely related to a question I have been asking of myself in recent weeks...
Have we become "that family" in our neighbourhood?
We have lived here for fifteen years. New neighbours have moved in on either side of me in the past six months. The neighbours to my right are easy-going and friendly; the neighbours to my left do nothing but complain about their house, the neighbourhood, and how awful it is to live here.
I have two boys in high school, and another who just turned 21—he is still at home, but working. About six weeks ago one of my boys's friends came to our house because he was fighting with his parents. We have attempted to build a relationship with these people for the last year, but have found it extremely difficult because of how paranoid they are of everything, and because they are convinced that my kid is an instigator of trouble. Anyhow, they insisted that their 15-year-old son come home. He did not want to go. They were exasperated at us for not sending him away, but in our minds we thought he was most likely better off in our house than he would be wandering around the streets. They threatened to call the police, and then insisted they were coming over to get him. The father stormed up to my door and demanded his kid come home. My wife told him not to enter the house. They screamed and complained for 25 minutes, and again threatened to call the police. At this point I went ahead and called 9-1-1. Three squad cars showed up with lights and sirens to diffuse the situation, and everyone on my block noticed. It was embarrassing.
So, fast-forward to two-weeks ago. My kids were playing basketball on the driveway @ around 8:30 pm. The ball went into the up-tight neighbours's yard. My 16-year-old son climbed the fence to retrieve the ball; the neighbour saw him, lost her mind, and started screaming at him about trespassing. He says he apologised and went back to playing ball with his brother. Shortly afterwards the ball again bounced onto their driveway, and before my kid could retrieve it the neighbours ran out, grabbed the ball and went back into the house. When my kids tried to get their ball back, the neighbours would not return it. My wife and I came out to try and settle things, and the neighbours and my kids yelled back-and-forth at one another for ten minutes or so. At one point, the woman complained about the police incident from previous weeks, and then it hit me...
Have I become that neighbour? I have always thought I was a good neighbour. I try to look after my property, keep to myself, and do whatever I can to keep the peace. But have I now become the guy whose kids are trouble, and who gets visits from squad cars? How did this happen?
Last week I put a fence up between our driveways.
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