Here We Go Again

Well, the "mad lady" is at it again! This is beginning to remind me of the movie (The Sandlot, was it?) where a crochety old neighbor hoards the baseballs that come over his fence, and the boys in the neighborhood tell stories and build on past events until tales of the sheer meanness of the old man reach epic proportions. (And maybe it was Stand By Me.)

Anyway, Sawyer's baseball bat had the unfortunate luck to go sailing over our fence and right into the mad lady's garden, where it came to rest underneath a bush. The kids didn't even tell me for a day or two and when they finally did, I got that familiar sinking feeling. I went outside to check out the situation and was dismayed to realize that there was no way I could retrieve it on my own. (How it flew that far into her yard is another story which I'm not even sure I want to hear!)

To tell you the truth, the bat was fairly hidden under the bush and I realized that it might actually be some time before our neighbor even noticed it; nevertheless, I told the kids that we would just have to be patient and that when she finally DID discover the bat, she would probably fume but she would hopefully just toss it over the fence. Ummmm . . . I guess not.

I snuck out to check on it yesterday and the bat was gone. Just gone. No sign of it anywhere. Now, you might think that walking around the block, going up to her door, ringing the bell and politely asking for our bat back would be the mature, grown-up thing to do. Problem is, there's no one here who fits that description. Seriously, she's SCARY.