Bi And Large

OMG.

So, we have many, many neighbours in our neighbourhood that we love. It is rather like a large extended family here. We all watch each other's kids, borrow cups of sugar and each other's cars, grow food and flowers for each other, chat over cookies or movies or tea or rootbeer floats year round. Love them. We are very close.

We also have one family, across the street, who we are not close to. They hate us for some reason, although we have never figured out why. They get along well with most other families in the area. They have teenage kids and 2 of the 3 are rotten. Including arrests for vandalism, theft, and stalking of another neighbour's teenage daughter. The first summer we were here I told them off big time (hey, I was pregnant; it was bad though I was yelling and cursing at kids when they yelled back at me) because they were shooting illegal fireworks on our roof, maybe that was their issue with us. They are shitzu owners too and way scared of Charlotte, and always yelling at us that we shouldn't have her out in our own yard, even though their tiny shitzu has bitten a couple kids and Charlotte just lumbers slowly along loving everyone. But whatever. Normally, we coexist peacefully, all is well.

So NICE family directly behind us, with cool dogs and great people who watch our girls and bring us apples and raspberries and are so great, and three very sweet teenagers; their son is friends with MEAN family's rotten son. Not sure how that goes but hey whatever. Are you tracking with me here?

So tonight several of us families were out playing in the yard with the younger kids. We had a soccer game on, several on the swingset, two doing gymnastics, two hunting for toads. Nice fall evening. I had Charlotte out on her lead laying on the lawn getting snuggles from two of the girls and a toddler who would go up to her and shriek every time she got a dog kiss. A couple of us parents were out chatting and watchng the kids as the sun went down and it got dark.

Just as we're about to head in, we hear a THHHWWWWWAP! and this bright green arc flies through the sky, through a group of kids (!!!) and HITS THE DOG!!!!!! It then bursts into orange flame and shoots sparks and lights her tail on fire! She is yelping and growling and running and the kids are yelling. Charlotte gets the light free and it goes out on the lawn - a bottle rocket. Someone shot a fucking bottle rocket into a crowd of toddlers. Oh that's fucking GREAT. It lit our dog on fire!!!

So I check Charltte out and she seems scared and slightly charred but OK, she has pretty thick fur. I get her and the girls inside and the other parents scatter as well. The rocket came from Nice Neighbour's back deck. Weird. When I went in and told Pete he went up to Nice Neighbour's house to find out what the hell? He gets up there and it is a small party. No parents. Rotten Neighbour's three kids are there and they are drunk and have bottle rockets. Brilliant. Pete tells them off and points out that it hit the dog and could have hit the kids. 

He came home and we made the difficult decision to call the police. Sent them up there to break up the party and send the drunk 15 / 16 year olds home and confiscate their illegal fireworks and maybe impress upon them how dangerous this was. I feel badly that Nice Neighbours, the parents, will likely have some fallout from this and I am certain they have no idea it is going on. I am 99.9% sure it was not their kids doing the bottle rocket stunt. And they will get in trouble for it. But all the same, it's at THEIR house. And their kids need to figure out picking their damn friends a little better, and they should know better than drinking and being stupid while their parents are gone. If it was me, I would want someone to call the police, I really would. So we did. I plan on talking to them in a day or two, I hope they understand.



Just thank God their stupid bottle rocket hit the poor dog and not one of the tiny ones toddling around on the grass 10 feet either side of her. They could have easily blinded one of the kids, or worse. I am REALLY shaken.

In other news Pete's interview for the VP position has been moved to tomorrow morning. I have interviews Wednesday and Thursday. Tomorrow is picture day for Amy, and I see my pdoc / psych on Friday. Happy Thoughts please!