As I walked to my car after work last night, I checked my phone for my email and any voice messages that I had received during the day. I have to be careful doing this because often times I get lost in my messages and either walk past my car and end up in some random place in the parking garage or I walk into walls. But that is a whole other story.
On this night, while looking through my phone, I noticed that I have a voice message from a number that I did not recognize. I dialed into my mailbox and listened.
The caller was one of my neighbors. And she was calling to tell me about a complaint that she had with the car parked in front of our house. She went on and on about how the weather conditions were just horrible today (which they were, we got 4 inches of snow in about 2 hours) and since our road is so hilly and narrow it is not safe or right for us to park a car on the road in the front of our house. She repeatedly said that we needed to move it. It was dangerous and so on. Then she ended the message with something that really just rubbed me the wrong way. She said this time she was just making a friendly phone call.
This time!? This time!? What the hell is that suppose to mean?
The whole message just annoyed me. Its not like we consistently have a car parked out in the road. We do our best to keep the cars in our driveway but sometimes it is not possible to make it up the hill into the driveway, especially in bad weather.
I spewed and sputtered about this to myself most of my drive home. I decided that even though this lady was a big meanie, the best thing to do was to give her a call and try and make peace.
But I really wanted to call her and give her a big piece of my mind. But as the saying goes, you capture more flies with honey than vinegar.
So I would apologize. I would tell her that we would try and not let this happen again. I would tell her that is was actually our babysitter's car out there and that we would tell her how she should park. I would use all my people skills and smooth out all her ruffled feathers.
I would be the bigger person.
And I was.
In fact, I was such a big person that I had Jeff make the call.
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4 days ago
45 comments:
Yeah, that whole, "this time" thing was quite obnoxious. I am glad you were the bigger person. and let hubby make the call.
I could not be trusted had I returned that call from your neighborly "friend."
Kiran
Clever girl! I believe that people that are mean and complain constantly about other people are actually bored, lonely and sad as they have nothing better to do with their time.
that is my friend...love it. good work, girl. and park the car there again just for good measure.
oh my goodness! some people, really!! I'd probably have to let Paul make that call too....I'd have been too ticked.
Next time you should park in front of HER house!
There are some people who just look for things to complain about. Arguing with her would just throw gas on that fire and you'd probably wind up with a Hatfields and McCoys style feud on your hands.
Probably a good choice having Jeff handle things.
I love that last line!
You made the right decision, especially after working the whole day. Who knows what you would have said?
I have opened my mouth before and ended up with my tires slashed by a neighbor. NOT a good time.
Good call. Literally. If it really upset you it was better to wait or have Jeff take care it b/c disputes with neighbors never turn out well.
I understand this is the exception in your world but our neighbors son parks his car in the road EVERYDAY. Which makes it difficult to back out of our driveway. We haven't said anything yet. It is frustrating when they too have a full size driveway and no feasible reason why he doesn't park there.
Oh my, I would have been so fired up!
If it was a danger, she should go to city council and make a case for getting "no parking" signs there courtesy of the township. You can't just say you can't park here and there.
You're smart, you have common sense, if you thought it was a real danger, I am sure you would have thought of another solution and place to park the car.
I am a big "live by the rules" kind of person... I hate rule-breakers. If you had parked the car there when it clearly said no parking, that's a different story.
See? I'm fired up for you!
Sounds like you live in my parents' neighborhood (except it doesn't snow in FL much...) The neighbors called the neighborhood patrol to report that my car was parked over the sidewalk (in our driveway) on Easter Sunday one year. I was visibly loading my car up to LEAVE to go back to college. Luckily, the blogahood is much more lenient on where you can park cars!
My husband would have had to make that call too. Sometimes neighbors aren't very neighborly. When my dad died, his dog mourned him by howling. A lot. And one of our neighbors (who knew my father had just died!) called animal control and the police. My mother sent them a Harry and David basket. I wanted to go egg their house but she wouldn't let me. It has been years but sometimes I still get the urge to drive by their house with a carton of eggs in the front seat.
I hate whinny neighbors! I thought the story was going to end with it not even being your car or anyone who was at your houses car.
Sometimes it is best to send in back up, espeically when we are still mad.
You know...sometimes it's best to let the cooler head make the difficult call to a difficult person. I would have called and we would have to build a wall or get a restraining order:-)Great judgement on your part!
I would have made Anthony make the call, too, because I would have bitten her head off (even if my intentions were good).
I was waiting to hear that you got home and found out it wasn't even a car of yours! That would have been funny as hell.
Ugh. Obnoxious.
Laughed at the last line of this post. Sounds like something I would do.
You wanna know a secret? You actually catch more flies with vinegar. I'm not kidding. It's a way to catch fruit flies.
That is awesome. I thought I was the only one to put my spouse up to my dirty work.
PRICELESS! I loved this!
We had some neighbors like that when we had a townhouse.
One night they went door to door trying to find the person who had parked in 1 of their 2 parking spaces. It was totally ridiculous.
I totally would have had Alex call too...he is wayyyyy more tactful that I would have been! Some people are so unaccommodating and ungracious of others sometimes.
I would have just left the car in the street and drew a big middle finger in the snow. Seriously I park in the stree everyday and no one has ever said anything to me.
Yep, I have to outsource being the better person to my hubby too.
HA! I would have left the car out on the street just to annoy her a bit longer. If city officials aren't complaining about it, then who is she to? If you're allowed to park there, keep on parkin' there! :) But I do love that you had your hubby call - I would have been the same way! :)
Yep, I would have made Dan make the call too!
Rudeness!
EXACTLY why I don't have neighbors :) GO JEFF!
That would have annoyed me too!! But you were right to take the high road--good for you!
LOL! I love it! I totally would have made my husband call, too!
And that is exactly what I would have done! My husband knows how to charm everyone. I just get mad!
I about choked when I read that last sentence! Hilarious!
I TOTALLY would have made the call but I'm bitchy like that! LOL
Neighbors can be so rude sometimes. You are a smart girl!
Nice neighbor...wish there was way to type in my tone dripping with sarcasm. I love that you made Jeff make the call.
LOL! You are much smarter than I am! I can just imagine...I would've called from the parking garage. LOL
I too would have called from the parking garage and made God ashamed of me. Either that or left it a bit, cooled off, turned into a great big pussycat and not replied, instead burying my anger and 'growing a tumour instead', as Woody Allen puts it.
Still. Do you want me to pop over and rock her roof for you?
HA...you handled it beautifully. As did your Hub I am sure.
"This time..." hmmm. Have to love (not at all) some passive aggressive.
Next time, please give me the number. Heck...gimme the number now.
This sort of thing SERIOUSLY peeves me.
I won't be able to sleep for a month now.
I hope your hub set the record straight.
(I'll take that number now.)
ha ha - I would have done the same thing!!
I love that Jeff made the call. You do get an E for effort though...because you didn't call her and tell her what a big doo-doo-head she was.
I would totally have done the same. Michael is much more of a peace maker...I would have said many things...most of them not exactly helpful!
oh, that would *REALLY* make me fume!!! good idea having the hubster call.
It was probably a wise choice ... that would have burned me. I could have never pulled off being nice.
My kind of girl! Ugh! Neighbors!! My next house I want lots of land and no neighbors for miles. ;)
HAHAHA! The last line is AWESOME.
I would make Jon call too...but not because I am a bigger person. Because I'm a wuss and confrontation makes me cry like an idiot (even if I'm not sad or mad, I just cry).
LOL! My husband would be the one making ME call.
HA! That is just too funny.
I was waiting to hear how YOUR conversation went.
We love hubbies :)
Awesome! You should have used your crucial conversation skills! Then parked in the road again...
That is so annoying! Who calls their neighbors about how they park???
You are better than I. I would have told her to shove it. And hello.. it's a street, I'm pretty sure that as long as you aren't blocking someone's driveway, you can park wherever you damn well please. This time, and next time.. what the hell is she going to do about it??
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