Black Irksome Friday

You know, getting annoyed is not something I really enjoy. I don't seek out opportunities to get irritated or exasperated or enraged. That's one reason I have never (not once) joined in the Black Friday shopping madness. I don't enjoy shopping much on the best of days, let alone when I would have to wait in line in the cold and drive around to places with no parking and fight over stuff with absolute crazy-for-bargains people.

So to save myself the aggravation I just don't go out the day after Thanksgiving. Pretty much I spend the day putting up Christmas decorations and getting in some exercise to make up for everything I've eaten during the holiday. Today I intended to have a laid back, irritation-free day. Unfortunately, since that included putting up the outdoor Christmas lights, I had to cope with my neighbors.

Have you ever lived next to someone who's about as different from you as can be? But not just different in a quiet, unobtrusive way-- different in a way that forces their lifestyle on you? That's kind of our situation right now. My neighbors are nice enough-- we are friendly with them-- but the loud ATV and dirt bike riding up and down the road is not popular with anybody on the street. Today it was even worse than normal. They had more people visiting than usual (and every weekend they have somebody over) and it seemed like the loud revving of engines was never going to end. It's grating enough inside the house, but since I was outside for quite awhile, my eardrums started to hurt. Not to mention that I felt like I was constantly breathing in the exhaust. Ugh.

Then there was the rest of it. Not only did the kids and I have to breathe an extra concentration of exhaust, there was also the cloud of cigarette smoke that seemed to migrate right into our yard. Even more disturbing were the loud conversations in which the foul language was practically shouted. Walking out my front door was like stepping into a R-rated movie. And of course, my kids came outside with me and got exposed to this poison, both physical and spiritual.

As if that wasn't enough to ruin my day, the Christmas lights I put up quit working right after I finished getting them all strung up. I had a different set I was able to use, but first I had to take the others down, and then hang the second set up. What a headache-- especially since all the while I was getting the exhaust/cigarette/swearing treatment as a bonus.

And for the crowning way to spoil my day, I went and ate half of an apple pie, all by myself.

I feel sooooo sick right now. I sincerely hope tomorrow is a better day.