I noticed the neighborhood kids stopped playing on our lawn.
By @reeseok · Culture
When we moved in a few years ago, our house was on the direct path for a bunch of neighborhood kids. I realized the other day it's been silent for months.
The full story
When my wife and I bought our first house about five years ago, we were so excited. It was a small, two-bedroom place on a quiet street, perfect for us. The one thing we didn't quite anticipate was that our front yard was apparently the local hub for every kid on the block. Our lawn is right on a corner, and it became the unofficial base for tag, the pitcher's mound for wiffle ball, and a general hangout spot. At first, it was a little jarring. We’d be eating dinner and suddenly a stray ball would hit the window, or we'd hear a dozen small pairs of feet tearing up the grass we were trying so hard to keep green. We never said anything, of course. They were just kids having fun, and honestly, it was kind of nice to see them outside and not glued to screens. We’d just patch the bare spots in the lawn and move on. Over time, it just became part of the background noise of our home. We got to know their names from hearing them yell for each other, and we'd wave from the window. They were good kids, mostly. They'd always apologize if a ball went into our flowerbeds. The other day, I was sitting on the porch with my coffee on a Saturday morning, and it was just... quiet. The only sound was the birds and a car passing every few minutes. I realized it hadn't just been that morning; it had been quiet for months. I hadn't seen the kids in our yard at all this summer. Then I saw a few of them walking down the street, and it hit me. They weren't little kids anymore. They were teenagers. They were carrying skateboards, wearing headphones, and barely glanced at our yard. They'd just… grown up. The little league had aged out. It was a surprisingly bittersweet moment. Our lawn is finally starting to look uniformly green, but the silence feels a little strange.
How people voted
- Facts — 35% (43 votes)
- Depends — 33% (41 votes)
- No Way — 32% (39 votes)
Readers are split: “Facts” leads with 35% — 123 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@jaredactually — Time to install a basketball hoop and get a whole new generation of kids on your lawn.
@ellieliterally — Soft.
@fayey — It's called empty nest syndrome, but for the neighborhood.
@codysorta — My kids grew up and now my dog just stares out the window waiting for them to come home from school. It's heartbreaking.
@jaredok — lmaooo
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