I have been thinking a lot about how our nieghbors are... uptight. Everything must be peacefull and perfect and clean. The first day I ever saw our house, one of our nieghbors was out washing his TRASH CAN... I have a hard enough time dusting! I found it has influenced us in a way. We try not to upset them, WHICH IS VERY HARD TO DO, or annoy them in any way. Which is not bad at all, but I kinda think that we have been trying to match thier way of living... A neat perfect orderly way. BUT here is the important part, they try to make everyTHING perfect, not everyONE. That has translated into our lives some recently. Some of the younger ones in our family have not really been taught good manners... When we moved back to AR we had to stay in a rent house that was in not such a perfect neighborhood, and the house we stayed in was really gross. We mopped and scrubbed but dirt was just "in the air" there it could not be clean. But anyway things were loose and free. We stayed next to neighbors that were happy, playful, a bit rowdy, but it was relaxing! People in our family were layed back more there in the busy time of moving and buying a house than we are now that we are settled and living normally. I am not saying that dirty is good or that taking care of things is bad. I am saying that we seem to have been a bit tight. I am very happy to live where we are now but everything is so uptight and clean and about things! It is hard to explain... I have been reading a book called, THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR. It is a good book. I was reading about people being UAW (under accumulators of wealth) because of the neighborhood they live in. They are forced to uphold the reputation of a $6,000,000 house with other expensive things. I think that can also match what we have done. Kinda. AHHHHHH!!!!! It is soo hard to explain and I cannot find the words! I like our house, I love the people in it, I don't like the neighbors, they are perfectionists! I like things to be nice but there is a limit. Work has been put before character in some ways. If I have offended anyone or said anything inappropriate or in the wrong way please tell me. I'm not trying to be a hater of cleanness or orderly people.