𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅?
A Safe Neighborhood Does Not Mean Harassing Kids. There is a line between being a watchful neighbor and crossing into harassment. It seems, there has been a troubling pattern in our neighborhood: some adults are using “safety” as an excuse to question children and teenagers who are simply playing, or spending time outside, trying to enjoy the day. They ask for names. They ask where the kids live. They claim they “know everyone in the neighborhood” and use that as justification to challenge young people who have done nothing wrong.
I can't imagine how anyone could know all of the people that reside in the neighborhood, unless, of course, you come from Krypton or something like that, and have been blessed with X-Ray vision. That would let them see through the walls of the houses and see who lives where. However, doing that, will make those peoples more creepy than they all ready are by harassing people on the streets in the name of "I am keeping my HOOD safe". How about if you just get a life and worry more about your own problems, I am certain you have a lot of them.
That is not safety. That is intimidation. Children and teenagers should not be treated like trespassers in their own community. I will not denied that there is a faint possibility that over the years there could have been random trespassers, but I cannot believe that it is anywhere near the problem that a specific group of people claim.
They should not have to explain themselves to random adults. They should not be pressured to give out their names, addresses, or personal information. In fact, we teach children not to give that information to strangers. Then some adults turn around and somehow feel entitled and demand that same protected information from them under the banner of “neighborhood safety.” That is backwards.
A safe neighborhood is not created by making kids feel watched, judged, or unwelcome. It is created by adults acting with maturity, restraint, and common sense. If there is a real emergency, call the appropriate authorities. If there is actual suspicious behavior, document it responsibly and report it through the proper channels. But confronting kids simply because they are unfamiliar, young, loud, outside, or not recognized by a particular neighbor is not responsible. It is wrong.
There is also a deeper issue here. Teenagers are still members of this community. They are someone’s sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors. They deserve respect. They deserve the same basic dignity we expect for ourselves. Neighborhood safety should never become an excuse for adults to play private security, demand personal information, or make young people feel like they do not belong.
We can care about safety without harassing kids. We can be observant without being aggressive. We can protect the neighborhood without turning it into a place where children feel uncomfortable walking down the street. The standard should be simple: if a child is not in danger, committing a crime, damaging property, or threatening someone, leave them alone. Be kind. Be aware. Be an adult. A truly safe neighborhood is not one where every child is questioned. It is one where every child feels safe enough to be outside.
The irony lies in the fact that while we, as homeowners, are expected to adhere to these rules, there seems to be a selective blindness when it comes to the HOA's own missteps. It raises questions about the true purpose of these guidelines—are they genuinely aimed at fostering a harmonious community, or are they wielded as a tool for personal agendas and power dynamics?
𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚎𝚜...
I was told "You Don't Own the Wall" by a neighbor. Well, DUH! I'm thinking, then my answer to this person was "No, (name of the person) I don't own the wall" followed by a huge amount of confusing feelings.
Yes, I am talking about the same wall you see in these pictures.
This is another situation that is part of the non-stop disappointment since we've moved here.
Since we moved here, we have encountered problems such as disrespectful situations, neighbors getting in our "BACK YARD" business, and a person "who believes that she knows gardening/landscaping" that ordered the removal of one of our shrubs.
I would like to tell you a little bit of how everything started for you to understand where I am coming from and perhaps, some of you won't agree with me and that's perfectly okay because like as I alway say, "IF IT DOESN'T AFFECT YOU, you most likely won't care or won't understand the situation"
My husband was trying to be respectful and follow the HOA rules, however there was never any sign of respect from them towards us. Never an answer for our request for the Green House that I need ("NOT WANT") for my health situation. Due to the lack of communication from them, we made the decision to put up the green house because the cold weather was upon us and I needed to keep my herbs and vegetables alive. Some time passed, and eventually we got an e-mail from the Management Company/HOA stating that "You are going to take down the green house and blah, blah, blah..." we were also notified who reported us about having the green house, (THAT WAS AWESOME) as well as to know at least who your neighbor really is. After that, many neighbors informed us that the person that complained about my green house, is a VERY UNPLEASANT individual and that the only thing she does is to get into other neighbors business. As the story goes, she has a history of calling to report whatever she dislikes, on pretty much everyone on her own street, and the list continues... UNBELIEVABLE! This is just a glimpse of the awful discord that this individual has caused in this neighborhood.
Next, let's talk about what it means to take an accusation from my neighbor saying "YOU DON"T OWN THE WALL". This is another disrespectful situation when it comes towards our property. So, we DO UNDERSTAND that the neighborhood HOA has always taken care of the common area landscaping, no big deal right? It's normal, it's how it is.
They obviously became accustomed to do whatever they thought appropriate. For example, the former owner of our house never questioned, nor cared about what was done on his property by then, "not our concern", as simple is that! However, the thing is, as you can observe in the pictures above and below; the neighborhood wall sits in close proximity to my home's garage. Any work done, by contractors or HOA volunteers, on or close to the wall will also have impact our property, but more importantly, our privacy -"what's SO HARD to understand". This is an actual event that happened to me while inside my garage, "I decided to go to my garage to do something and opened the garage door, at that moment I was not dressing in an appropriate style for the public eye, but I was inside my garage, right? As the garage door opened, I became aware that were people working on or near the wall with a full view into my garage and all that we have in the driveway! Well, my reactions was to run inside my house, because I thought that, if I pushed the bottom to close the garage door, it will take longer to close, than me just running inside the house. This type of situation keeps happening because The Management Company/HOA either refuse, or are not concerned, nor have the courtesy to do something as simple as letting us know. Sure, we got it, as I had mentioned before about the former owner not caring at all. Allow me to explain a little bit by what I mean with "they didn't care". Their reason of not caring about anyone doing work, on or close to the wall, was because they NEVER did anything good for this house, the yard, and especially the backyard; didn't even try to keep it clean nor decent looking. The front yard was just kept enough, perhaps just to not get in trouble with the HOA. So, of course, they never were aware of anyone being close to their property or house so the former homeowner had no worries about anyone looking at her or their belongs inside their garage. I am confident that they just opened the garage when they needed to go somewhere... assuming they parked in the garage.
Now, let's go back to the main reason of my blog "YOU DON'T OWN THE WALL"... No, you're right, I don't own the wall, but one of the thousand questions that crossed my mind at that moment was, "What's your problem?" Even if I believed that, which I don't, what's that got to do with you, or even better, in what way is it hurting you??? Well, looks to me like it was hurting her, maybe it still is... Guess what, NOT MY PROBLEM, I do sleep well and with a clean conscience.
So, to close this part of the story, I just want to say this, look at all of the pictures again. What do you see? The one on the right above is a before we moved in, and believe me when I say that this picture is giving more credit than what the reality was. We have improved the front yard, including the section where the neighborhood wall sits. We have invested in beautifying and elevating the space, (Our problem, right? We're very clear about that). The point here is that we are not "The neighbor" that moves in and paints their house in Neon Green, or Gothic Black, or Pony Pink, etc, nor are we the ones that lay out a rubber tire with flowers in it on their front yard (nothing wrong with it, I do believe that everyone is entitled to have their own aroma, right?).
Look, we're "sarcastic", we love to laugh, we believe that is better to joke about some situations than take them to seriously, why not? So, this one was one of those cases, when I was outside working with my husband on the garden close to the neighborhood wall, I was approached from "the neighbor" and she asked me what I thought about the new neighborhood lights? Well, me being me, here comes the sarcastic answer to that question, "Well, another thing that they have done and did not even have the respect of letting us know." haha...
SIN! Oh, No! Apparently my answer was a sin (even if I wanted to believe that I was little bit right). So, this is how it works here, "and this does not apply to every single thing that you need or want to do at your property, it all depends". We ALL (well, I'm sure that is not all of us - If you know what I mean) are obligated, if we want to do something on our property, to go to the adjacent neighbors to let them know "Out Of Courtesy" and not seeking their approval and then they need to sign the paper work as a part of the"WE WILL SEE - IF WE SAY YES" for what you are asking for process. Which by the way, we have figured out that quite a few people do not know about this (WHAT A SURPRISE!, well... not really) and the fact that everyone is asked for signatures every time a neighbor requires to do something (depending on what it is). Funny fact, our two adjacent neighbors have said to us that this is ridiculous, and why do they have to sign again and again? and All that jazz...!!! Haha...
However, it seems no one, from the Management Company or the HOA, is capable to simply let us know "OUT OF COURTESY" that someone or a group of people will be working or doing something right in our faces!
Oh, by the way - The lights are fantastic, now we have more lights to see... "the... beautiful tiny plants? I guess, right!". or even more security, I suppose (it's not like that the late night visitors here to take what doesn't belong to them, care about the extra illumination) but no matter what, I believe that the lights give some beautiful character to the neighborhood entrance, which I believe that we can all agree on that.
I never said anything negative, in fact, I never said anything at all about the lights and I NEVER EVEN MENTIONED the word WALL, but I was told, right after my sarcastic answer about the neighborhood lights... "YOU DON'T OWN THE WALL!,". I believe that when this kind of situation happens, it is actually great, because (as scary it can be) we realized how much someone is holding inside of them, something against you, I do believe that. And here they are, all the while they want to make you believe that they're friends. Well, I had it coming! I was warned from several people in the neighborhood to not approach or let her get close to me or my family. Well, me being me, beside liking to be sarcastic and funny, I also wanted to believe that I held a heart that tried to be a good friend, a good neighbor, a good everything, but above all these reasons, I am the kind of person that prefers to give a chance for anyone to prove that they have changed, or even better, to show that they really are not like what had been said about them. It was REALLY SAD to see that everything that I was told and warned about this person was true. I suppose this is another "Life Lesson". Don't get me wrong though, we do not hold any grudges or bad feelings against them or anyone that has wronged us. In fact, it's okay, we're all here to learn, to grow, to love, to respect and sometimes to accept certain circumstances. What's the best thing to do? Just keep going on with your life!
Let's laugh more and worry less. Life is really too short to be so bitter, especially when something is not or, at least, shouldn't be your concern. We know this for a fact.
The spice that makes everything nice
Making memories that last way beyond summer.
A long day indeed. But the joy didn't come solely from the activities we chose; it was in the quality time spent together with friends. After spending time with some friends that came from far away to see us, we decide to go to downtown Historic Norcross to visit one of our favorite stores. We had time for a little walk together, before going back home to have the pleasure of sharing time with new neighbours and others that we have already had the luck of calling them friends. An evening, that we expect won't be anything but a pleasant time with them. The appetizers and the wines that are waiting for us to enjoy as well as the chattering of surprising conversations and laughter.
As the season comes to an end, I'm reminded of the beauty in life’s transient moments — the ones that seem so simple, yet fill our hearts with immense joy. These are the moments that make life extraordinary.
35 Balloons
My first journal on August 5th, 2023, is on my son’s heavenly birthday. I have titled this article "35 Balloons" in celebration of what would have been his 35 years here, in the earthly world. The years have passed and with them, many dreams and hopes too, but they were dreams and hopes for him and because of him.
It was December 31st, 2013, the last time I saw his face, heard his voice telling me he loved me and that he'd see me the next day. Well, that never happened.
I couldn't say goodbye, couldn't hug him, couldn't tell him how much I loved him, or how immensely proud I was of him. But, I've always wanted to believe that he knows, even though life and fate didn't grant us the chance to say our goodbyes. I still remember it as if it were this morning when the doorbell rang. There they stood, a police officer and a priest. It was my husband who answered the door. I only recall coming out of the bedroom and hearing what they were discussing with my husband. It was a moment that felt empty, air barely entering my lungs, or at least that's how it felt. I remember going to my son's room; it felt like my feet were heavy with every step, but I eventually got there, in his room, slowly looking at his bed, his clothes, and all the things he loved. The truth is that at that moment, I wasn't really thinking about anything. My mind was a completely inert; I just observed everything around me. Maybe, just maybe, I wanted to believe it was all a lie, a very distasteful joke. That's how I felt for a long time until reality began to dawn on me...slowly.
