Damn kids, get off my lawn! (Read 477 times)

I'm really starting to get annoyed with the little rugrats in my 'hood--or at least those who come from the apartment complex next door. They wander around in our yard uninvited and don't seem to "get" that Dane has homework every night and needs to get that done BEFORE he can come out and play. They also have no qualms about inviting themselves in or asking for Dane's toys and books--and he's Mr. Generous and would give everything away if we weren't there to intercept. One little girl made off with his knock-off Crocs, which I had no issue with, since they give Dane sores on the sides of his feet and they fit her well...but this seemed, in her mind, to be permission to take ownership in anything she set her eyes upon, as the very next day she was over grabbing armloads of books and toys from his room with the intent to make off with them. We're not a friggin' charity, fer pete's sake! After we told her no deal she hasn't really been back since. Tonite's episode takes the cake, though. I was in the house fixing dinner and went out to call Dane in (he was on his bike). I go out to the yard and he's nowhere to be found. So I call him. Loudly. Numerous times...and I'm starting to panic. Finally I hear him coming. He was further away than he is allowed to go on his bike without permission AND he tells me that the little boy he was biking with heard me and said "oh, that's not your mom calling"--right, like the neighborhood is just full of kids named Dane. So I take Dane's bike and helmet away from him and tell him he's grounded from it for AT LEAST a week...and this dumbass boy asks "can DAN play?" Gah, he doesn't even know my son's name when he has heard me call Dane by name numerous times and then he has the nerve to ask if he can play with my kid when he has WATCHED me take my son's bike away. Seriously, has this kid ever been punished in his life? My guess is no. We have FAR too many kids in this neighborhood who have 0 supervision, run around poorly dressed for conditions, are out well after bedtime on school nights, etc. People don't care adequately for their kids and I'm certain our new kitty came from the apartments, too (that don't allow pets, yet many of the residents have dishes of food and water on their patios or outright have cats living indoors with them). That lack of responsibility for one's children and pets makes me positively livid. /rant

Oh, yeah...that always gets me, too. We have a few dogs running loose from time-to-time, but it hasn't been bad lately. Stray cats are more of an issue. A year or so ago we had a mama cat with the sweetest litter of babies--feral babies. It was the first time I ever encountered kittens that were terrified of me. It really broke my heart. Not long after that we didn't see any of the babies...I have a feeling wild animals and dogs got them. So sad. No domestic pet should meet an end like that. k