Happy New Year’s; I hate my neighbors!

Ok, maybe HATE is a really strong word, but I really do not like people sometimes, especially when no-one taught them how to behavior towards others!

For New Year’s this year I would like to kick someone in the ankles—basically because in my current state of unfitness I probably couldn’t lift my leg much higher than that.

I have to tell you, these social training groups they set up for autistic kids to learn how to socialize better really should be set up for most of the world’s population, as I am sure they need it  more than we do—most especially, more than Aspie Teen does that is for sure!

A Little background

I’ve lived here in South Carolina for nine years now and have found some of the rudest people in the world living here—and that is coming from a native New Yorker who was born and raised in Brooklyn! First we lived in a small town where the people weren’t friendly at all.  We lived there for five years and our neighbor directly to our left never even once said hello to us—not once—in five years! Then we  moved here to Florence, and it went from unfriendly to down right rude, especially when driving. This place gives me road rage.

Ever need to change lanes so you stick your head out the window and ask the person next to you if you can get in the lane in front of them?

Well, just in the past year alone I was told “NO” TWICE! Many times people do not want to let you in but if you ask politely, they will let you go—or else pretend they don’t see you with your body half hanging out the window.  But tell you no??? I’ve never had that happen to me anywhere else—ever! 

So there is my rude driving rant, but what does this have to do with the neighbors?

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve a friend of the family came with my niece for dinner. My sister-in-law had to stay home because my mother-in-law was sick.

I never thought to ask my guest where they parked when they walked through the door on Christmas eve. It has never been an issue—parking. We live in a townhouse complex and each unit has parking spots in front of their home, one parking spot per bedroom, so we have three spots but only two cars. There is always room out there for more cars to park and I have never thought anything of it if there was another car parked in one of “my” spaces.

There are no signs

When you drive into the complex, there are no signs about these “parking rules.” A visitor would have no idea there we assigned spots, in fact, there aren’t even any painted lines to indicate spots…only a blacktop parking lot out there.  Apparently my guest pulled in and parked across the street in front of another house where there was space. Maybe being Christmas Eve someone was in one of my spots, I don’t know I don’t concern myself with such nonsense.

When it was time to go home my guest goes outside not only to find a note on her car telling her she could not park there, but the note ended by saying that since it was Christmas Eve they won’t have it towed, Merry Christmas!

If that wasn’t rude enough, the woman who lives in that house saw her and proceeded to lecture her like a child about parking there, telling her she paid for those spots when she bought a house here and she could get the car towed if she wanted to and will do it if she parks there again.

What happened to just nicely saying that we have assigned spots so she knows for next time?  Or walking across the street and asking if she could move the car if she needed her spot—politely instead of threatening to get the car towed.  I don’t understand this manner of dealing with others, especially since this is the first time it has happened.

New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve we always buy those little poppers to do when the ball drops at midnight—the ones you pull the string, it makes a popping sound, and streamers fly out of the end. We usually do these in the house but the Tot had fallen asleep on the sofa so I sent the boys outside to celebrate the new year and make their noise.

When I was younger my grandmother always send us kids outside in a parade like a marching band with pots and pans to clank together while yelling “happy new year.”  Actually, the whole neighborhood spilled into the streets at midnight.  Grandma still bangs pots and pans at midnight at over 82 years old, and it is a tradition for us too.  This year it is probably a good thing that we decided to forego the pots and pans because right after midnight the boys came running in the house, saying “Mommy, she has her phone and is calling the police!” Happy freaking New Year to me!

The same neighbor threatened the kids. She told Aspie Teen that it is illegal to blow up fireworks in city limits (which it is) but what they had were NOT fireworks. They had poppers, sparklers, little smoke bombs (that they did those earlier in the evening—in front of OUR house—the FIRST time she told them she would call the police on them), and those little white snaps that you throw on the ground (made of paper) that make a “popping” sound—NOT FIREWORKS!! My two-year old throws those on the ground!

Aspie Teen had to go over there and explain to her what he was doing, and show her exactly what he had to convince her not to call the police.  I wish he would have come told me before he did that because my child does not owe this woman an explanation, nor is she supposed to be out there policing my children. At midnight she came running out with her cellphone in hand again, and my mother started yelling at her from in front of our unit that they were only “effing sparklers,” which made her retreat back into her house.

She didn’t come out again once I went outside, but I really do wish she would have called the police so she could have looked like a complete fool for calling them for a few children lighting sparklers with their grandparents on New Year’s Eve!

And we need social training group classes???

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