At least that’s what I was thinking when I disconnected their hose from my tap this morning. All I wanted was a little respect and them to simply ask before taking our water (a precious resource at a time when my city is banned from watering its lawns). Not to mention there is now a tap on the new property.
Before I spoke I should have taken the time to check my mood. I was acting out of a mood of Resentment. They were using my water and I didn’t accept that. What I was blind to at the time was the mood restricted my actions. I wanted to be polite and had no reason not too, yet the resentment said otherwise.
I disconnected the hose, threw it back over the fence and said “It wouldn’t hurt to have a little politeness would it”. The resentment in me, triggered resentment in them bringing a curt “I thought we were supposed to use that tap”. “No”, said I in return and walked inside.
A different mood, say of acceptance, would have given me the choice of inquiry and a different language. There is a tap next door but perhaps it wasn’t working. “I’m upset that you didn’t ask and though you say you were to use this tap that wasn’t asked of me nor agreed to”.
The builders next may have been rude but I definitely was.