If someone asked you what an idyllic neighborhood would be what would you say?  A quiet cul de sac?  Or would you say a house on a large lot of land with few neighbors?  I like a combination of things, neighbors close enough to hear you if you scream but I enjoy privacy and am very big on boundaries.  My home is right outside of our downtown so land is not an option and privacy is hard to come by.  I have been very fortunate over the last 10 years in that my house has sat between two sets of perfect neighbors for an extraverted introvert like myself.  Nice, tidy, respectful people without young children that keep to themselves.  We smile and wave and chat on occasion.  Perfect.

Perfect until yesterday when my husband and I found out that one set of neighbors has decided to move.  To some that might not seem like that big of a deal but to me…. to quote Ralphie in The Christmas Story, “Fuuuuddddgeee”.  To someone who’s an extroverted introvert that’s friendly but dislikes most people, this is not a good thing.  Some people might think this is a positive thing, maybe a younger couple with children will move in.  We think, great now there will be kids running on the tiny strip of grass between our homes and people will want to talk to us. Don’t get me wrong, I am very polite, always, and can talk the paint off a wall but only when I want to.   Sometimes I relish in social settings and other times I just want to smile and wave.  I don’t need to be around people and am very content being alone in my own little world.

So what is a girl to do?  Since sitting on my front porch with a shotgun appears to be frowned upon in today’s society, we resorted to the next best thing.  We have already gotten quotes for a fence, barbed wire, land mines, trained attack dogs and a sentry tower.  I know the tower seems excessive but since I can’t shoot anyone, what the heck, I’ll splurge.