Pet Peeve

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Today I witnessed something that has become one of my biggest pet peeves over the last (almost) 7 years we have lived in this house. We live directly across the street from a school, and parents drive by our driveway and seem to think to themselves, "Wow! A personal parking space just for ME!" So, several times throughout the week, we will have parents park in front of our driveway, or park so close to it that they jut into it by several feet so that we cannot get out with our own car. Last year this happened so many times that we had the school's phone number memorized and they would make announcements over the loud speaker like "Whoever is blocking the driveway of the house across the street, please go move your car" (which we can hear from our house, much to our amusement). There were a few times Martin had to leave for work and couldn't because someone was blocking it by at least 3 or 4 feet.

So, back to today. The school year began about 2 weeks ago and we haven't had a problem until today when I saw a woman actually pull IN to the front part of our driveway, then get out and stand, waiting for her kid, for almost 10 minutes. I couldn't believe it! Now, Martin thinks I'm making a big deal out of nothing. He's like "Well, if we aren't going anywhere, then who cares?" Yes, that is my Phlegmatic husband :) But me, on the other hand, thinks "Someone is parking in MY driveway! This will give everyone a license to think they can do that too! This is against the law and not right!" I know, I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing. See for yourself - what do you think?



For about 10 minutes I walked back and forth through my kitchen like I was planning a military mission. Should I go say something, or not? What should I say? What if she starts yelling at me? What if.... I don't like confrontation. I prefer silent confrontation, but as I stared at her with evil eyes through the window, she didn't see me. So, plan B. I grabbed Jaden (who is so cute nobody could get mad at me while holding him), and I walked towards her truck. "Um, Ma'am?" I said in my nicest "you might find out I'm a Christian someday" voice, "Would you mind moving your truck? We deal with this all the time and I don't want other people to think they can park here." Before I even finished my sentence, she got a look of embarrassment on her face like "shoot! I didn't think anyone was home" and she said "Oh, sure" and got in her truck and drove away.

Wow, I went through a lot of stress for that little interaction right there. It all turned out okay. At least I won this time :) Still, next time I hope the evil eyes work so I don't have to go back out there!