I'm a Mailbox Assassin!!!

Did you ever just have one of those days? I seem to have them with disproportionate frequency. A few weeks ago I was visiting my mom, right when Selah was just getting over that last tummy bug. It had been a bad few days, since when Selah vomits, she turns into a human sprinkler. So, not only do I have to settle her down and clean her up, clean myself and change all my clothes, I usually have to use about 1/2 bottle of Oxy Power Fantastic on my carpet, furniture, walls, etc... I was stressed and exhausted, and the kids were grumpy. I ran out to start my truck, which was parked in front of my parents' house, and decided to pull it into the driveway to be closer to the door for loading up. I glanced in my mirror, looked over my shoulder, and backed up. CRUNCH. I backed right over the neighbor's mailbox. Grrr... I was ready to cry at this point, but instead I took a deep breath and went and knocked on their door. I calmly apologized and left her my number. I told her I was willing to pay for a new mailbox, and sorry for the trouble, etc... She was as sweet and bubbly as always, saying "Oh, don't worry honey. God does all things for a reason." Yeah, only this reason seems to be for a wealthy family to get a mailbox paid for by us, when we can barely makes ends meet anyway, because I decided to murder an innocent mailbox. (Hey admit it, I'm not the only one who gets a bad attitude when God is teaching you a lesson!! At least she wasn't mean and cussed me out...) Not helping my poor attitude was the fact that we have not had positive experiences with the lady's husband. The guy was mowing his lawn once, and actually CHASING neighbor kids around with the blades engaged. Slash Tag everyone, sounds like fun! On top of that, this same Einstein who chases kids with lawnmowers for fun once buzzed right by my terrified two-tear-old while mowing one day. Elianna was following Chad around my parent's yard (there is no fence between them) and the guy comes whirring right by just feet away. Chad whirled around to get Elianna, and there she was cowering down on her knees petrified. The guy didn't even stop. Chad scooped her off and stormed to our car, and the guy buzzes by AGAIN and this time his blades throw a rock that smack Chad right in the neck. Chad was perturbed, to say the least. So today, I get a message on my answering machine. "Hi, this is Mrs. _________, your parent's neighbor. I just wanted to let you know we got a new mailbox and it cost $100. Have a blessed day!" BLESSED day!?!?! Why does she keep invoking God's name? And it's not like God was going to bless me anyway with my cranky attitude. For one thing, I didn't know a new mailbox costs $100!??! Did they find one that addresses and stamps mail for you? Scans it and incinerates junk mail automatically? Writes back all those credit card companies and demands to be taken off their mailing lists? I mean seriously, $100!??! OUCH! (Okay, I had a comment reprimanding me for complaining about the cost, so I need to point out that this part is supposed to be funny for those who don't see the humor!) *sigh*We had a kind older lady slide on the snow and hit our mailbox last winter, and we graciously replaced it. Ourselves. Still, I knew at the end of the day, it was the right thing to do. Chad, who still can't stand him anyway because of all the lawnmower incidents, told me although I had no legal obligation to replace the mailbox, we both agreed that we were morally obliged to make things right. Now, it's always harder to make things right with someone who you don't particularly like (it was much easier helping out the nice old lady who smashed not one but TWO mailboxes on our street). Even if we can only afford to send them $10 at a time, our integrity is worth $100, and technically... I did crush their (nice) mailbox!!!!



P.S. Here's a picture of what we can afford versus what they bought:

Har, har, couldn't help it.