Sleepless Night

Why do I let people who don't matter to me get under my skin to the point that I toss and turn all night and now feel like crap because I didn't get enough sleep? Once again my neighbor Marilyn went on one of her tirades about what a horrible person I was and so all night all I could hear was her voice. Her opinion of me doesn't matter at all to me, so why do I let her bother me so?

I've lived next to Marilyn and Wally for 15 years now. From the moment I moved in she was always in my face about something. She's very overbearing and demanding and has a loud voice that is akin to nails being scratched on a chalkboard. After I moved in I told her I was going to trim her tree that had branches over my house and garage. She was fine with it, until I had the work done. Then she attempted to sue me for damages. She lost that case. Then she subpeonaed me as a witness when she tried to sue the tree company. She lost again. Granted, I went hostile witness on her because she had made my life a living hell, harassing me and anyone who came over to my house.

After the court case I have pretty much ignored her existence and for the most part she ignores me as well, but every once in awhile something sets her off and she spews her vile hatred of me. Last year she got drunk and spent hours yelling in her back yard to anyone who would listen that I was a c*nt, a wh*re, a lesbian, a c*ck-sucking wh*re lesbian who serviced terrorists, and then corrected herself, because if I was a lesbian I wouldn't like men. This went on for several hours. Two new neighbors moved in last year and she immediately told them that I was a horrible person and to give me wide berth. And so they have, because they're afraid of upsetting her should she catch them even saying hello to me. She says I like terrorists? She IS a terrorist. She has terrorized the entire neighborhood and I think she hates me because I'm the only person who ever stood up to her and she lost not once, but twice in court.

Yesterday she pulled her truck into my driveway. Okay, why was her bleeping truck in my driveway? It's on the other side of her house and there was plenty of places to park on the street. Normally I'm at work, but I was working from home yesterday. I opened the door and politely asked her to move her truck because I had to leave in a few minutes. You would have thought I spit on her or something from her reaction. She refused to move her truck (but then did a few minutes later). But before she moved the truck she stood in my driveway and went on and on about how badly I've treated her all these years and how nice the other new neighbors are compared to me. I've treated her badly? I haven't said ten words to her in fifteen years, but for fifteen years she's carried a black hatred of me that continues to spew forth. I'd say she's the one treating me badly, and not the other way around.

Part of me feels sorry for her. She must have a miserable existence if she is still holding onto a grudge fifteen years later. But I just wish she'd stop it. I'm tired of hearing what comes out of her vile mouth, and always worrying that something will set her off. She's pond scum, so her opinion of me doesn't matter to me, but why do I let her get under my skin and keep me awake at night?