Driving through my neighborhood, you would think this is a quiet place, with some kids here and there, nice yards, and sweet older people. You'd be right. I've lived here for 2 years now and I love it. My neighbors are sweet and friendly, the kids have friends right next door, the older couples love to sit outside and watch the kids play, and everyone takes care of their yards, not because they have to, but because they want to.
I've felt safe here, and then this morning that changed a little. We woke up, got ready and I walked Nick outside, to kiss him goodbye before he left for school. We opened the garage, and parked right next to our truck was an old beat up red car, with the door wide open.
My first reaction was, where is the person that drove the car? So I ran inside, told my kids to stay in the kitchen with Nicholas, and went straight to the back yard. Probably not the smartest thing to do, since the person very well could have been in the back yard with a gun. I'm a mother though.....I will protect my kids forever, so my first instinct was to find this person. I searched and found nothing.
A second later we saw a cop car driving down the street so we flagged her down. She was just as confused as we were, and her first reaction was to search the yard too. I stayed in the house with the kids, lectured them on how the police officer was doing her job and that she is a good person, as I watched her search the backyard with her gun in her hands. I thought to myself.....what if she had to use her gun? What would my kids think? So I gave them chores to keep them busy, and away from the windows.
The police officer didn't find anything, or anyone either. The car hadn't been reported as stolen either. She looked through the car and there were bottles of pills (of course), masks, bandanas, tools, and some other weird stuff. She sent a tow truck to pick it up. I didn't feel safe with it sitting in my yard. Who ever owned that car would be looking for it, or coming back for it, and I don't want them around my home.
As all of this was going on, I had several neighbors come to check on us. To see if we were robbed or something. They all found out what was going on and immediately knew to check their cars. 2 of my neighbors, one next to me and one in front of me, had their cars broken into. The police officer helped them as we waited for the tow truck and we then learned from her, that a car had been stolen, just down the street.
We were all angry. We ALL take care of this neighborhood, and watch out for all of our children, and homes. We feel safe here, and welcomed. When something like this happens, you feel like that safety has dwindled a bit. Violated. I was lucky and didn't have my truck broken into, my house wasn't touched......but I still walked outside feeling a bit mad. Some guy (I won't say woman, just because my gut tells me it was a man), had the nerve to park this car that was likely stolen, or has drugs in it, in my driveway. 50 feet away from my kids windows where they were sleeping. That's not ok.
Nick couldn't miss his class, but I could tell he wasn't happy that he had to leave. My neighbors stayed outside with me, and we all talked for hours. I'm lucky to have these people as neighbors. They don't hide in their homes all the time, yet they don't smother us either.....well maybe their kids do lol! They cared to ask me if everything was ok, and if I needed anything, and I did the same for them.
Sometimes bad things happen in good places. It's a fact of life. We will all go on about our business today, keeping an extra eye out for each other, because after all.....we all need people in our lives to look out for us.
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