The spite! The audacity! The nerve! Life in Peterson Place

Yes, I am exaggerating...a visit to Mom's neighborhood, Peterson Place, is not exactly like a visit to Peyton Place, but there are times when it definitely resembles some kind of strange cable reality show. Or a daytime drama, only with people who are older and plumper.

Mom lives in a neighborhood of patio homes, which means that although the homes are detached, they are small and on small lots, and the lawns are maintained by the HOA. When she and my late father moved into the neighborhood, most homes were owned by retirees and although the majority is still owned by retirees, some younger people and a few small families have also moved in.

In a place where the homes are close together and most people have a good part of the day free, there is going to be a certain amount of prying, gossip and irritation, to be sure. I am just shocked at how much of those three exists! Every time I visit, I am newly surprised at just how much they all know about each other's business and the extended families of each resident, and there always seems to be at least one issue about which they are cranked up.

This time, Mom and two of her immediate neighbors are a-twitter at a couple whose house faces their three houses. They are angry that this couple has done some landscaping in their front yard and down the sides of their driveway that, in their words, "doesn't go with the style of the houses." Let's see, as far as I can tell, the style of the houses is simply small brick ranch. And, in my very humble opinion, nothing that they have done looks bad - just some brick outlines and some river rock. But Mom and her friends think it looks awful and, more importantly, has been done by this couple just to annoy them.

The latest "slap in the face" that this couple committed was to add solar lights down the sides of the driveway. Shut up! How rude! You may be chuckling, but the three women were aghast, and got just a bit annoyed with me when I failed to display the appropriate amount of outrage. Actually, I failed to display any reaction at all except internal eye rolling so they quickly cut me out of the conversation. And don't even suggest that if this couple broke any HOA rules or covenants, that the HOA should deal with it; that point is irrelevant in their minds and it's a touchy subject because the yard desecration started when my mother was still on the HOA board. Oops.

I love my mother dearly and she is, overall, a kind and sweet lady. But this couple and their "hideous" house are obviously a source of contention for her and I suggest that you never EVER mention it in her presence.