Waiting for the slam

I was listening to Keith Urban's song "But for the Grace of God" today. It's kind of scary how exactly like my life these lyrics are. Sad too.

I can hear the neighbors
They're arguin' again
And there hasn't been peace on our street
Since who knows when
I don't mean to listen in
But the shoutin' is so loud
I turn up the radio to drown it out
And silently I say a little prayer

But for the grace of God go I
I must've been born a lucky guy
Heaven only knows how I've been blessed
With the gift of you love
And I look around and all I see
Is your happiness embracing me
Oh Lord I'd be lost
But for the grace of God

It's not neighbours, it's my landlord and her on again, off again boyfriend. They were off, for good, a few weeks ago and we had peace for a bit. She's told him that he can stay until he finishes school in May though. That means that they're "trying to work it out". Today it all blew up again. There's nothing quite like waking up to angry shouting :(

They go through periods of not talking to each other (my favourite) and getting mad over every little thing. It's amazing how angry words can make you feel even when you're not involved in the situation. I have a new appreciation for any child who survived the divorce of their parents. My parents fought occasionally but not like this couple, and not with the swearing. Usually when it blew up with my parents it would end fairly quickly with a slam of the door as Dad left to go cool off. He'd go for a walk or a drive and then come back and they'd work it out. The people upstairs just stay and fight. I wish one of them would leave! I'm not saying it's a good way to deal with conflict but it would sure make the house a lot quieter.

Usually, like today, as the song says, I "I turn up the radio to drown [the shouting] out". Sometimes I leave the house. The other day they got into it a while before I had to leave for work so I grabbed one of the books I'm reading for class and headed out early. Dad called just as I pulled in and I told him what was going on. I told him "I liked the way you handled it better" which made him laugh a bit.

By the grace of God a bit of yelling is all I had to witness as a kid (which is healthy, no one gets along ALL the time) and now. I'm so thankful that there's no physical violence :( I can still pray that the shouting will stop though. Or that someone will just leave!