spring rain ~ 04.15.2008Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
in the heat of the moment
11:15PM
Should I have offered help? Should I have asked some questions? These are the thoughts running through my mind as a result of two kids (14-16 yrs. old) who opened our gate, and ran through and around our yard.
A hot day resulted in open windows tonight, which is how I heard the gate. Since we weren't expecting anyone (and it was after 9:30PM), I thought it was the orange kitty jumping over the fence. A few minutes later I hear one boy say to the other, "let's go" and then run down the side of our house. I looked out the front window and saw that the gate was open (I know it had been closed because I had been outside an hour before checking the mail). I closed the gate and then ran through the house to the back and looked out the window, one of them saw me and started to run back to the front yard. I ran to the front and turned on the light, when he got there I said, "what are you doing? get the f*** out of our yard!" And he did, leaving the gate open behind him - of course. As he ran, I yelled behind him something about seeing his face and he'd better stay "the f***" out of our yard - blah, blah.
Meanwhile, when I was in the back (looking out the window) Jeff wanted to know what was wrong. I told him and he ran out the back door and yelled something in that direction. I don't know what he yelled because I was too busy yelling to hear him yelling.
In hindsight, I wonder what they were up to. Was it innocent? Were they just hiding from friends? Playing a game? Or were they running from trouble? Could it have been trouble they caused, or danger trouble? If it were danger trouble wouldn't he have asked for help? He didn't say a word, he just looked surprised, ran out through the gate and then East down the sidewalk. His friend met up with him in the yard next door and one said to the other, "let's get out of here" (oddly, in a calm tone of voice).
Anyway, I reacted in a surprising (to me) way. I didn't think before reacting. I was angry that they had been in our yard. I suspected that they had been standing in our yard, looking through our window - invading our privacy and possibly stealing items from our property in the back. That's a big issue and I won't tolerate that kind of situation. Still, after the fact, I felt bad that I had yelled at them (I mean, what if they were in need of help?), and used bad language to boot. SIGH. {rolling my eyes}
Should I have offered help? Should I have asked some questions? These are the thoughts running through my mind as a result of two kids (14-16 yrs. old) who opened our gate, and ran through and around our yard.
A hot day resulted in open windows tonight, which is how I heard the gate. Since we weren't expecting anyone (and it was after 9:30PM), I thought it was the orange kitty jumping over the fence. A few minutes later I hear one boy say to the other, "let's go" and then run down the side of our house. I looked out the front window and saw that the gate was open (I know it had been closed because I had been outside an hour before checking the mail). I closed the gate and then ran through the house to the back and looked out the window, one of them saw me and started to run back to the front yard. I ran to the front and turned on the light, when he got there I said, "what are you doing? get the f*** out of our yard!" And he did, leaving the gate open behind him - of course. As he ran, I yelled behind him something about seeing his face and he'd better stay "the f***" out of our yard - blah, blah.
Meanwhile, when I was in the back (looking out the window) Jeff wanted to know what was wrong. I told him and he ran out the back door and yelled something in that direction. I don't know what he yelled because I was too busy yelling to hear him yelling.
In hindsight, I wonder what they were up to. Was it innocent? Were they just hiding from friends? Playing a game? Or were they running from trouble? Could it have been trouble they caused, or danger trouble? If it were danger trouble wouldn't he have asked for help? He didn't say a word, he just looked surprised, ran out through the gate and then East down the sidewalk. His friend met up with him in the yard next door and one said to the other, "let's get out of here" (oddly, in a calm tone of voice).
Anyway, I reacted in a surprising (to me) way. I didn't think before reacting. I was angry that they had been in our yard. I suspected that they had been standing in our yard, looking through our window - invading our privacy and possibly stealing items from our property in the back. That's a big issue and I won't tolerate that kind of situation. Still, after the fact, I felt bad that I had yelled at them (I mean, what if they were in need of help?), and used bad language to boot. SIGH. {rolling my eyes}