Good news and bad news

The good news: Ella got her NINTH cousin last night: Little baby boy Jaden was born to my husband’s sister by C-section last night around 7 p.m. Baby is 6 pounds and 4 ounces and has dark hair. We are thinking about them and hope Tami is recovering well. Yay babies!

The bad news: In our house we currently reside in, we have been egged about three times, teepeed twice, caught neighbor boys throwing rocks into our yard, and had money and a cellphone come up missing. So last night when a neighbor knocked on my door to inform me that her son and another neighbor’s son shot my window with a bee bee gun, I had enough. Before I had thought, “OK, boys will be boys.” But they had crossed a line.

Upon inspection I found they also broke out a garage light, and put a very large bullet hole in our upstairs window. Where my husband works all day. Where Ella and I often sit and talk to daddy when we get home at night. I was beyond mad.

I talked to the parents and one of the young boys outside. The nonconfrontational, nice me was gone and I actually spoke my mind. I told them I was fed up with all of the vandalism. The next door neighbor denied her son had done all those things. I reminded her that once we came home and her son was IN our yard cleaning it up. Her husband believed he did it and sent him back into our yard to clean it up, saying nothing to us. Last night I told her to NEVER send her son onto our property again without our permission. I didn’t like the way they handled that situation, and again I wasn’t sure they were going to come clean about this one – luckily the other mom had the nerve to knock on my door and tell me.

Finally I asked the moms if their kids still had bee bee guns, which to me is just negligent parenting. Perhaps a country kid could get away with it, but who thinks a 12-year-old living in a subdivision should have a bee bee gun? They said they don’t. Then I got a little choked up as I reminded them all I have a one-year-old daughter that could have been hurt. Then I went in to tell my husband.

He was furious. It wasn’t even a discussion if we would call the police. He picked up the phone and called them and I’m glad he did.

The policeman asked us if we wanted the boys taken to a juvenile center. As mad as I was, I didn’t want to see the boys traumatized, just so scared they’d never do it again. The policeman assured us he’d put THE FEAR into them.

He talked to the families, and after they confessed he told them their boys would be on record for vandalism, they would be the first suspect if anything else occurred to our house. And the next time, they wouldn’t be asking us what we want to see happened to the boys. They would go to jail.

Afterward the parents and kids apologized and shook hands with Steve. I was inside, it was getting late and it was so awkward out there, I just wanted to get away from it.

I’m still mad, but I’m trying to remember 12-year-old boys do stuff like this. I just really hope they have learned their lesson. And I sure hope the parents are good on their word to cover the costs. Guess I’ll be shopping for a new window and outdoor light this weekend …