More Proof

Moving is complicated. Living in a house that somebody used to own is complicated. Learning the ins and outs of a new neigborhood is complicated. When we first moved in, we felt like we didn't know where anything was, nor did we seem to know how anything worked. We felt lucky to just get the lights on and off.


On our fourth day there, we finally decided to get the mail. We went on a little family walk and stopped at the mailbox. We tried our key and it didn't seem to be working. Rick tried it, I tried it, Gwen tried it. We would have had Fiona try it if we thought it would be useful. We stayed out there for 15 minutes trying to get the lock to budge. People were out on walks, mowing their lawns, and played with their kids. I'm sure all the neighbors thought we were idiots who couldn't do something as simple as open a mailbox.


Defeated, we went home and I asked our neighbor if they ever have trouble with their mail key. He walked with me over to the mailboxes to see if he could get our key to work. As he approached the mailboxes, he walked around to the back of the mailboxes. We had been trying to open the lock that the mailman uses when he puts the mail in all of the individual boxes. Nice.

We walked back to the house (me, with a slightly lower self-esteem.) I sat on the lawn to go through the mail. It was a beautiful evening and Gwen was enjoying playing with the oodles of neighborkids on the street. As I sat on the lawn, I laughed at our mistake with the mail and thought about all the things we still needed to figure out. What day does the garbage pick up? Where do we go to get new drivers licenses? How do we work the automatic sprinklers?


Ten minutes later I learned when the automatic sprinklers turn on. They turn on a 8:00 PM when I'm sitting in the middle of the lawn, going through the mail. This is also the time when all the neighbors are on their front porch with a clear view of me getting soaked.


Score
New House: 3
Beans: 0