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One of the things that Todd was most excited about with the new house was the fact that it had a flagpole in the front yard. That being said, this happens to be one of the things I like LEAST about the new house. In the first several weeks we were in the house, every time I would leave to go to the store, Todd would shout "Hey... pick me up an American Flag for the flagpole!" to which I would respond "NO!" and carry on like I never heard him. Well, one day I came home from work, and as I pulled into the driveway, I saw a big old American Flag waving from the pole and a light fixture stuck in the ground. AWESOME.

He was proud of his new flag! But as the sun set over the Scanlon house, the solar light fixture he had bought to shine on the flag never lit up. I made it a point to tell Todd that it is pretty much illegal in the US to fly the American flag without a light shining on it... then I headed upstairs to continue unpacking moving boxes. Later that evening, I came downstairs and noticed the flag, folded up all nicely, on top of the hall tree by the front door. He had gotten worried and taken it down. I walked in the den and said "Why did you take your flag down?" and he responded "Just so you know MISTY, it's not illegal, it's an etiquette thing, but I am taking it down until I get the light working."

He was not able to get the light working, and since he had researched the legality and found it was not illegal, he just kept on flying it and I just kept on making comments about it. Then, one day at work, I decided to have my co-worker write up a letter I had written in his handwriting that basically stated the following:

Dear New Neighbor,
Welcome to the neighborhood! Very happy to have you here and really do not want to get started off on the wrong foot, but I have noticed that you have been flying your American Flag without a light shining on it, in the rain, etc. We are all very patriotic in the neighborhood and would appreciate you showing some respect for our country's flag. I have enclosed a copy of the US Flag Code for your use, just in case you are not familiar with it. Hope we can rectify the situation and we can all be happy and neighborly. Thanks so much, your new neighbor.

I attached a copy of the Flag Code, put it in an envelope and stuck it under the doormat in front of the front door. Then I brought in some groceries and told Todd I needed him to go grab some stuff from the car. As I was putting stuff away in the fridge, I could see out of the corner of my eye that he had found the letter and was over in the corner reading it. Then I saw him crumple it up and shove it deep down in the trashcan. He said nothing to me. We had a beer, ate some dinner and hung out on the couch for a bit. Then he got up and disappeared.

I found him out front taking down his flag. I went out onto the porch and sat down with my beer and said "what are you doing? why are you taking it down, you said you were just going to let it fly, light or no light, since it was not law!" and he responded "well, I changed my mind, I am taking it down until I can get a proper light for it." We kinda sat there for a few minutes... then he fessed up. "I did not want to say anything, but apparently one of the neighbors is pissed at us. I got a letter about it."

That is when I completely lost it and started laughing hysterically. It took him a few minutes to realize what was happening, but he finally looked at me and said "YOU DID IT!" So freaking perfect! It was just awesome. I cannot wait to think of some other way to get to him!!!

The Scanlon's have a new address (which I will not be posting online...) as of June 1st, 2012. We found a house that was a super great deal that we could not pass up. Great price, in a great neighborhood, etc. We loved living in the condo, but the kids are super excited about having a garage to put all their bikes, skateboards, etc. in. They are excited to have a neighborhood they can roam and they are super excited about having a "playroom." I am super excited about having over 2000 SF of living space PLUS a garage! We are all very excited about this new adventure. Todd is already lining up new siding for the house. The house already had a brand new roof, a new heating and cooling system, all new windows and all new wooden floors throughout. Todd is going to have to get used to yardwork!!!