BOOOM!!

Goddamn gunshots.

I jump out of my skin.  EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Keeping my fingers crossed that this house sells soon.  I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to.

But no one has come to see the house yet. So for now, I will daydream of neighborhoods where my daughter can play outside.  Places where there are parks, and sidewalks, and other young families around.  Where there are block parties, parents gathering by a grill or fire pit while kids play hide-and-seek between the yards and catch fireflies.  A place where I can put my daughter in her stroller, put the dog on a leash, and take a walk in a neighborhood that does not look like it has chicken-pox when you look it up on the registered sex offender's site (seriously - more than 20 on the route I used to walk my dog on.  20!!!). 

I guess on the upside I can now tell you the difference between a handgun and a larger gun, and I can judge with pretty good accuracy what direction it came from.  The rush of flashing lights & sirens almost always confirms my suspicions.  And hey, who the heck needs nightlights when you can get police helicopter spotlights checking out your backyard???