I don't mean to frighten you...

I don't mean to frighten you, but we seem to have a problem here.

The rental.  Rentals are rarely places you would choose to live was the quote from my real estate agent when we looked at this place.  It is true.  I mean, we are trying our best to look at the bright side here.  Oh, the kids have lots of friends in the neighborhood and we have beach access for the summer.  That should more than make up for the tiny kitchen and vood floors (vinyl wood) which cause the sound of click, click from the dogs nails to echo through the house day and night.  It is a house and not an apartment we say.  That should count for something...and is it does mean we are not woken at 4 AM to the sounds of someone else's baby crying.  But is the reality of this rental worth the couple of items in the bright side column?

The reality is...WE HAVE SPIDERS EVERYWHERE.  Nothing can make up for that.  You may recall my little driving incident from last summer?  Spiders and I don't mix.  They don't mix with my children either.  And they are honestly everywhere in this 40 year old house.  I just killed one this morning so I could take a shower in peace.  Zach quietly moved seats in the car while driving on the highway to make room for the one who took up residence in the car (how many spiders can one car actually have? Because in my 37 years, I have never had a spider problem in a vehicle).  And my rule following children don't remove their seat belts in a moving vehicle for anything other than a life or death situation.

The reality is...the next door neighbor informed us to watch our dog so she doesn't harm the nest a couple of mallards made near their front door.  Wonder if they would mind the sound of a shot gun since that seems to discourage her from being a bird dog?  (fortunately the eight babies hatched on Friday and the family moved back to the lake, so we are in the clear on this one)

The reality is...the neighbors informed us we can't swim at the beach.  It isn't our right since we are "renters."  And in just one week I am learning this neighborhood has more of a hierarchy than my high school.

The reality is...one of the neighborhood boys is living at our house all hours of the day and night and keeping Molly from getting the sleep she needs.  Day one of summer vacation, he rang the doorbell at 7:30 AM.  He woke Molly with his early morning desire to play.  She spent the remainder of the day crying at the drop of a hat.  With all her crying, he left for home because he needed a little peace and quiet.

The reality is...I have made three trips to the grocery store in 7 days because our kitchen is so small I can't fit dishes and food in it at the same time.  I can't chop veggies and cook on the stove at the same time either, so cooking a healthy meal for five is a challenge.

The reality is...the wash machine can't handle loads bigger than medium in a stackable machine or I flood the basement.  I have to do laundry all the time to even sort of keep up.  In order to wash the sheets on Molly's bed from her little accident last night, I will have to do three loads of laundry.

The reality is...the garage door opener broke and I have to wait a few days for the landlord to fix it so I can use my garage again.  Which is sort of OK since it is filled with spiders anyway and I am pretty sure that is why my car is now infested.

The reality is...this whole thing is for just 4 months, so I grin and express to my children what a grand adventure we are having.  Then I vent to all of you in cyberspace.

So it doesn't really matter which column is longer...disadvantages or bright side...because we will continue to grin and express our joy at this great adventure we are having so the kids really do end up having the summer of their lives.  That is what any good parent does, right?  Oh...but those spiders...