Summer stress: false alarms
Last week, I was ready to trade my Grannie for just one, just ONE decent night's sleep this summer. The nightmare of suburban sleeplessness began last Tuesday evening when my husband and I were woken in the wee hours by the brain-searing wail of a neighbor's house alarm...
It wasn't the first time this has happened (this is becoming a regular rite of summer in our neighborhood), and we were certain it was yet another FALSE ALARM. Living in a quiet valley in suburbia, we were pretty sure it was the usual suspect: someone going off on vacation, leaving the alarm switched on, and no one in the whole country, never mind a close neighbor, with the keys or know-how to shut the damn thing off when it goes off for absolutely no reason at all.
Shutting the windows in our bedroom and throughout the house didn't help...it felt like the whole house was reverberating with the sound of the alarm, enough to put our teeth on edge. (By a small miracle, and the help of intensive days of swim practice, our kids both sleep deeply and incredibly weren't disturbed by the noise). By the time the alarm ran its course (20 minutes, half an hour...what felt like an eternity), we were so rattled, it was impossible to get back to sleep. By the morning, we were so groggy and tired, neither of us had the energy to do anything about it, but just got on with our days.
But, the same happened the next AND the next night. But then the alarm went off right as we finished dinner on the Friday evening.
I met my husband's steely gaze, nodded, got up from the table and said: "Right, I'm going to sort this out!!!" I stomped down the hill, up the hill and round the corner to the blaring house, rage increasing as the sound grew louder. Just as I got to the source of the noise, feeling my head about to split in two, a car pulled up. Gotcha! I thought. I'll let the owner have a piece of my mind.
No such luck!
The owners were no where in sight. Turned out, the driver was simply another disgruntled neighbor like me who wanted to voice his anger at these careless, thoughtless, selfish home owners who have no idea what aggravation they're making in our neighborhood. We chatted for a while, till our anger subsided, and composed a terse note for the neighbors, to "greet" them on their return from vacation. We both agreed to call the police every single time it happens, report it as a nuisance, and hope that these people get at least a visit from the police and at best a very hefty fine.
It's been a few days, all is quiet and we're finally sleeping through the night again, but I know it won't be the last time. I wonder what else can be done? These people should have to pay for creating such an ugly noise, disturbing our slumber and clouding our warm memories of the summer. Don't these people know the story of the boy who cried wolf one time too many.
This is an original SVMOMS post. Alison van Diggelen writes and interviews inspiring women in Silicon Valley at www.siliconmom.com
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