I need to talk about my neighbors because I have been holding this in for too long.
They had a birthday party this weekend. For one of their kids. In their backyard.
I counted six children and two adults. There were balloons. There was a cake on a folding table. It lasted maybe two hours in the middle of the afternoon.
And I am sorry but who is going to tell people that you cannot just do this.
The noise. Six children making the sound that six children make. For two hours. On a Saturday. I had things I wanted to do in my own home and instead I had to listen to a party I was not invited to and would not have attended anyway.
The cars. Two extra cars parked on the street near my house. On the public street, yes, but near my house, which means in front of the area I consider to be my general zone.
And the balloons. One of them came loose and drifted into my yard and I had to be the one to deal with a stray balloon on my own property because of a party that had nothing to do with me.
They did not warn me. No note, no heads up, no hey we are having a small thing on Saturday. They just decided to have a celebration in a yard that shares a fence with mine and let me find out about it by hearing it.
If you are going to host an event, even a small one, the neighbors should be consulted. We share an environment. My Saturday is part of that environment and they spent it without asking.
I am aware some people will say it was just a kids birthday party. To those people I would say it is never just anything when it affects the people around you.
So apparently I’m the bad guy for saying this, but here we go…
My neighbor was outside mowing his lawn completely shirtless in the middle of the afternoon, right in a residential neighborhood where families, kids, and neighbors are constantly walking by.
And before everyone jumps in with “it’s his property” or “it’s hot outside,” I get it. But when did basic standards and common decency become such a controversial topic?
This isn’t the beach. It isn’t a pool. It isn’t a gym. It’s a neighborhood.
Is throwing on a T-shirt really asking too much?
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I was raised to believe that when you live around other people, you show at least a little awareness of the community around you. Nobody is saying he needs to wear a suit to mow the grass, but come on.
Some neighbors laughed and said I was overreacting. Others agreed that certain things just don’t really belong in a family neighborhood.
So I’m genuinely curious — am I being unreasonable here?
Or have we just completely lowered the bar for what people consider appropriate in public now? See less