Just Stop Thumping...

I say these words at least a hundred times a day. Between "Just stop thumping" and "keep your feet quiet!" Reason being...The people under the stairs.

You see, we live in a rental. I'm not ashamed...I actually don't mind it. When something breaks, people come to fix it, and I don't get the bill. When it snows, a big tractor comes and cleans out my drive way. No shoveling for me! I don't even complain about the 30 year old crappy carpet...well, maybe a little.

I only have one complaint - The people under the stairs, or at least that's how I refer to them. They're not really bad people, they don't complain a lot, They (he) just made it perfectly clear before we moved in that he can't stand noise...well, I have kids.

The day I signed the lease, shortly before moving in, I came up to clean. The place was pretty clean anyway, it just needed some corners scrubbed and of course, the bathroom. Well, I brought Ben with me when I came to clean. At the time he was 3. Well, what happens when you let a 3 year old loose in a completely empty apartment? HE RUNS...HE JUMPS...HE MAKES NOISE!!! I wasn't here for 10 minutes before the downstairs neighbour made himself known by coming to my door and spazzing about the noise. It took me almost 15 minutes to get him off my front step! (I pleasantly told him I would do my best to keep him quiet, but he's 3...he's gonna make noise)

So we move in...we went a few weeks with no problems, no complaints...until one evening while I was at work and Hubby was home with Ben...The Man from under the stairs returned. And for some reason he thought it would be a good idea to tell hubby (some whom he had never met before) that he needs to control his child...NOT A GOOD IDEA. Somehow hubby was able to control his anger enough not to throw the man off our step - at least a 15 foot drop - and he called me...fuming! I told him I would deal with it and the next morning I called the landlord. You see, these people under the stairs have tenure, they've lived there for almost 20 years. (You would think they'd be used to the noise by now - or have moved) Anyway, I just said I don't want them coming to my door again...ever. And for the most part everything ended with that.

I've since been able to create a passing relationship with the Lady Under The Stairs, and we can chat for 10 or 15 minutes while were hanging out our laundry. And I do always apologize for any noise that we make. She's actually really nice - He still doesn't speak to me much.

So...now that I've bored you to death - I'll tell you why I say "Just Stop Thumping" a hundred times a day. Ben is heavy footed. And he doesn't ever walk - always runs. Which means every step he takes is thumping on their heads. They say it's only annoying at night, they go to be by 10 and we're night owls. But I am always aware of them, and I am constantly getting after Ben to keep his feet quiet.

I feel like it's really unfair to Ben. In one hand, he has to learn to be respectful of those around him, but at the same time, he should be allowed to be a kid. The hardest part is that I feel like I am yelling at him all the time.

So, what would you do? Would you do you best to keep you kids feet quiet, or would you just let them be until say 6:30pm. I really feel bad for getting after him sooooooo much.