Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2004, during Mattie's second birthday party. Mattie's party was at our home, and he was surrounded by family and close friends. Peter clearly caught a moment with us together, most likely chatting about his cake. Even though it was a vanilla cake, Mattie really wasn't into sweets. Totally unlike his mom! So at most parties and gatherings when Mattie got treats..... he turned them over to me! It was a great deal!
Quote of the day: Being alone with fear can rapidly turn into panic. Being alone with frustration can rapidly turn into anger. Being alone with disappointment can rapid turn into discouragement and, even worse, despair. ~ Mark Goulston
There are times I absolutely just want to blow my top. Today was one of those days. I woke up at 7:30am, because I just couldn't take another 5:30 or 6am wake up. After getting myself showered and dressed, I made breakfast. But before I woke my dad up, I called back a member of our community's home owner's association! That was my first mistake. It was NOT a good way to start my day. This thirty minute conversation sent me spiraling downhill. I don't typically hang up on people, but she was over the top.
She called me yesterday evening and left a message. She wanted to talk with me about the adjacent home to ours. This home was sold around the time we bought our house. I met the new owners and they have four children, two with special needs. The mom of these children introduced herself to us in the Fall and told us she wasn't moving in right away, because they wanted to make their home ADA compliant. I am all for that, and was supportive of her quest.
It turns out however, that this quest, is turning into a nightmare. I just learned she wants to completely demolish the house, and in addition to expanding the house, she wants to build a huge pool with water park slide, a human chess set, a terrace, and a golf cart garage and track in her backyard. What this translates down to is massive chaos and debris around us for over a year. Honestly I want to scream. How much can I take right now, as I have my parents, Sunny who has cancer, and now this. This isn't just a minor renovation or even an extensive interior revamp, this is massive construction and it will take big pieces of equipment to unearth dirt, cut down and remove trees, and the list goes on. I can't believe we will be living with traffic, congestion, construction noise, and dirt and debris flying everywhere for a year or more. Both of my parent's have bronchial issues and this will not be good for their health.
But here is the kicker, the woman from the home owner's association told me that the HOA bylaws have nothing in them regarding demolition and tear downs of existing homes. HONESTLY, really? So if Fairfax County approves this, our hands are tied. In addition she had the audacity to tell me if I wanted a home environment in which I could control what goes on around me, that I should move to another state! Welcome to the neighborhood Vicki! Frankly you could have left me in DC, I loved our complex, the people who worked there, and I lived a much stressful life in the middle of the city.
So today in addition to dealing with my usual chaos of endless questions, the bathroom routine, and other fire drills, I decided to write a formal letter to the HOA and their architectural review committee. I also reached out to all the neighbors on our street, because NONE of them (except one) knows of the construction plans for this house. The HOA felt that only adjacent houses to the house undergoing construction need to be aware of the plans. I don't agree at all, since we live in a dead end street, we will all be impacted. I told the HOA woman this morning that dust, debris, and particulates KNOW NO BOUNDARIES and all our neighbors have a right to know. Needless to say, I am not making any friends on the HOA. Then the HOA woman told me that the board is meeting this week to discuss this construction case. I said that I would like to attend to represent our concerns. I was told NO, that only board members are allowed. I did not like that response one bit and wrote a letter to the president of the HOA. The HOA represents all of us, and we pay dues. Therefore we should have a right to attend, to voice concerns, and be heard. Unless this isn't a democracy!
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