So my last post was me letting off a little steam. I'm hoping to not come off negative. I do want to be real and honest in my experiences. I hope through my sharing that others can empathize and maybe find answers to their own family life challenges or find that they are not alone in having many highs and lows in marriage and family life - and to be ok with them. My experience with my neighbours kept nagging me all the next week. I would find myself cringing just going outside my front door with fear that I might run into one of them. I have had great relationships with my neighbours in the past and dislike the feeling of hiding behind my front door. So this past Sunday I had decided to bake some cookies for two women at church that I visit with every month. I was just getting a batch out of the oven when a thought came to me that I should take some over to the neighbours house. AAAhhhh! I hate those good deed thoughts sometimes. They are truly a pain in the neck. I knew that I had not dealt with the situation with J and Hank perfectly. I had let my temper get away from me and although I felt justified in dealing with the situation, I could have dealt with it better. Like a reluctant child being told to go say "sorry". I wrapped up some cookies, walked next door and rang the doorbell. I wasn't sure what to expect. I half prayed that they wouldn't be home......they were. I quickly apologized for my behaviour the week before and asked them to forgive me for raising my voice in their home and dealing with the situation in anger. They were great. They invited me in and we had a great talk. They explained their point of view with apologies as well. Apparently she had been suffering from a head ache and didn't deal with the situation well either. We were able to come to an understanding of each other not just in the situation with J but as next door neighbours as well. We still have differences of opinion, but nothing we can't tolerate happily, and a great weight of negativity has been lifted off of my shoulders. I'm glad I put away my pride. Humbly standing up for myself is always better.
Good for you. We once shared cookies with a neighbor in a similar fashion and it does help to lessen feelings of discord. Hang in there. You are doing a great job. Cindy
ReplyDeleteGood for you, we should do that with our neighbour but it takes a lot of guts.
ReplyDeleteHumble Pie always tastes better when it's all gone. But there is nothing worse than having to hide in your own house for fear of interacting with your neighbors. That's when plans of moving always start sounding good. I'm glad you have established a tolerable relationship with your neighbors. You should tell then, if you think my family is a little out of control image 11 children, a dog and a cat:)You could do what we do just let your dog wander the neighborhood making friends on her own. The neighbors call Chloe the queen of the neighborhood. love you, carol
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