Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

What do you do when it’s 11:30 at night and your neighbors are having a noisy, sleep depriving party?  If you’re me, you march over there and tell them to shut the hell up.  I have no Japanese like compunction to endure insult from anybody, least of all college punks (I live a mile away from CU).  When I showed up at their door they seemed a little surprised that I came alone; they kept looking around to see if I brought the cops.  I wasn’t looking for a fight though.  In fact, I was on my best behavior.  I told them my kids can’t sleep and I thought it was disrespectful to the neighbors for the party to carry on so late at night like it was (it had spilled out onto the yard).  They said “Seriously?” to which I replied “Yes, I’m serious.  Keep it down.”  They said okay and I turned around to leave.  That’s when one of them called me an asshole under his breath.  Now, like I mentioned before, I wasn’t going to have any of that.  I turned back around and said, in my best drill instructor voice, “My kids cannot sleep.  Keep it down.  Is that unreasonable?”  The lead idiot said, “No, I understand.  We’ll keep it down.”  That was the end of it.  I went home and they kept the noise down to a dull roar (which I can handle). 

How does one guy end up commanding authority over a dozen college males?  It’s actually a lot easier than you might think.  The trick is to have grown up to a point where you are confident in your opinion, confident enough to speak about it without wavering.  The second trick is to have mastered your voice.    Demosthenes practiced oration by yelling at the ocean with rocks in his mouth.  We don’t have to go that far, but it helps to speak clearly and loudly.  The last two points about taking command of situations has to do with body language.  Be relaxed, don’t cross your arms or otherwise stand defensively, and look at the person to whom you are speaking.  Lastly, know who you’re talking to before you speak; have an exit strategy if you need it.  For instance, it’s not a good idea to break into a crack house. I knew my neighbors were college kids, and I knew how they would react before I talked to them. 

Kids are Good Practice: 

With kids comes confidence, or so we hope.  We’ve all seen wish-washy parents.  They can’t make up their minds, they say yes to everything, and their kids walk all over them.  The acquiescence is shameful really.  Most of us though, no matter where we started prior to having kids, develop self confidence by way of child rearing.  Before I had kids, I might have sat in my living room stewing about the injustice and plotting what to do about it.  But, when injustice affects your kids – that’s when you learn what you’re made of.  It’s one thing to suffer personally; it’s another thing to allow your kids to suffer.  I couldn’t have ignored my neighbor’s party if I wanted.  The moment my kids complained is the moment I decided to take action.  Fear had nothing to do with it.

Related posts:

1. Being Friendly with the Neighbors