The neighborhood party lastnight was...er...uh...interesting! Now I KNOW we don't live in a 'young' neighborhood- at least not directly. Its kind of nice...quiet and the homeowners are older and have time to invest in their yards. There are kids in the subdivision, but not within the immediate two blocks- which must have been the only blocks invited to the get together.
I think the median age before we showed up was like 76...we brought the average down considerably! John's out of town and I had to do this solo- which I hate doing! John's the social one- the talker. I felt my insides cringe...what the heck was I going to talk to these people about? The girls must have felt the same way- because they all three instantly shot me 'what the heck are we supposed to do' looks. I smiled at them and then pushed/nudged them through the gate.
In all, the evening didn't end up being a total loss. We met some of the neighbors- we had only previously known in passing. Which is always good when your kids are riding bikes and running around the neighborhood. More eyes watching out for their safety.
The kids were well behaved and politely excused themselves about 30 minutes in. Their exit allowed for the spreading of neighborhood gossip! And if there's something older neighbors are good at- its gossip! I got the low down on everyone within a three block radius. And WOW the stuff they knew! Even the men got in on the action- sharing what little golden nuggets of hidden secrets to which they were privy.
And it was all spoken so innocently too...not vengeful or mean. Kind of like it was all common knowledge...for example:
Me: I love how nicely they keep their backyard (the people who back to our backyard on the south and weren't at the party) I wish I knew them better...or even their names. I'm sure John probably knows them.
J: Oh, do you mean Alice*? Or the one next door whose husband ran off with his secretary? That was 5 or 6 years ago, before you moved in I believe.
T: I think she's talking about Cindy*. You know the one with the daughter whose husband is in jail for drugs and had a daughter with someone else.
I unknowingly started shaking my head trying to figure out what the heck they are talking about
T: Oh, your right! That's Alice's backyard- it is pretty! And she does all that work herself. You wouldn't even know her backyard was burned. (noticing the confused look on my face) Oh, about 10 years ago when her son was teenager, he got mad and poured lighter fluid all of the grasses and bushes and set it on fire.
UH ya! And those kinds of stories went on for a good hour and a half. Interesting evening to say the least!
* Names changed to protect my dear sweet innocent neighbors with the pretty flowers and well kept lawns!
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