Mccrory Family Tree

Bowman Family: The crazy tree

My neighbor is crazy. I do not say this in jest. She's bi-polar, and while I consider myself to be very compassionate toward those fighting mental diseases... this lady doesn't fight it. She just lives with it and forces those of us around her to live with it as well. You see, my crazy nut neighbor doesn't bother to take her medicine. We live close enough to hear her violent outbursts, and since those tantrums often occur after midnight when all else is quiet, we can hear things quite clearly sometimes. We hear everything especially clearly when Matt and I "shhh" each other and stand in the bathroom trying to hear through the pipes...oh wait... nevermind... we don't do that... Ok, so Crazy Nut has a mother, a very elderly mother who at first meeting comes across as being a sweet (just needy) old lady. She's very active despite her age and appearance. Crazy Nut's Mother likes to talk, and we found out soon after she moved in that she liked to knock on our door to tell us different, random, unimportant things. "I heard on TV that if you go to this dealership tomorrow you might win a car! Here's the information." What: The girls and I were minding our own business, swimming in the pool and enjoying a nice afternoon together when I hear a voice calling, "Valerie? Valerie, dearie, is that you?" I sighed inwardly and responded with a very polite, "Yes, ma'am." "Oh Valerie, dear, may I have a word with you?" Great, what in the world is she going to say? Was this a noise complaint...had our family been exceptionally loud lately?? Does she need help carrying something inside to her apartment?? Our conversation lasted 5-10 minutes with her repeating her God-given concerns multiple times. I most definitely told her that she had overstepped her neighborly bounds. I also told her that I felt that if God wanted to speak to someone about our fertility decisions then He would talk to us himself or just throw a surprise child our way. I considered myself to be very polite when I also threw in a "If God is truly laying this on your heart then, of course, continue to pray for us, but do not talk to me about this matter again. It's none of your business." The funny thing is that while I don't agree with her reasoning, I do agree that a 3rd child (either gender) would be a welcome addition to our family. In fact, I've asked God to surprise us with another child since Matt would never agree to one on his own.