When my neighbor wouldn’t turn off his bright floodlights at night, my husband and I needed a clever solution to keep the peace.
When the Thompsons moved in next door, they seemed friendly. My wife, Gia, and Susan, the neighbor, quickly bonded while chatting over unpacked boxes. We thought we finally had some neighbors our age to socialize with. Mark, the husband, was often away for work, while Susan stayed home and had a long list of phobias, including fear of the dark, thunderstorms, snakes, clowns, and spiders.
As time passed, Susan’s fear of the dark created an issue that affected Gia and me. Their floodlights, installed soon after they moved in, were excessively bright, like those outside prisons. Gia joked that they could probably be seen from space.
Despite our attempts to address the issue, Susan insisted she needed the lights on for safety when Mark was away. We tried thick curtains and rearranging our bedroom, but nothing helped. After a week of sleepless nights, I approached Susan, asking her to turn off the floodlights after midnight, as they shined directly into our bedroom. She explained her need for safety and refused my suggestion to install a timer.
After several attempts to reason with her and Mark, who felt similarly protective of Susan, we continued to lose sleep. Frustrated, I considered drastic measures, like unscrewing the bulbs or using a pellet gun, but Gia reminded me to stay calm. Instead, she suggested a harmless plan while she and Susan went out for nails.
The next day, I climbed a ladder and slightly unscrewed each bulb to disrupt the connection. That night, when Susan turned on the lights, they flickered and went out. Gia and I finally enjoyed peaceful sleep. Surprisingly, days turned into weeks, and the lights stayed off.
However, one day, I saw Mark fixing the bulbs again. The floodlights blazed back to life that night, and I knew I had to repeat my trick. This cycle continued for months—every time Mark tightened the bulbs, I loosened them.
Then one Saturday, as I trimmed the hedges, Mark approached me. He mentioned his floodlights kept going out, and I managed to keep a straight face while agreeing it might be due to vibrations from the street. I suggested he could leave them off, and he seemed to consider it. After that conversation, Gia and I enjoyed our peaceful, dark evenings once again.
«I’m in Excruciating Pain,» Christina Applegate Reveals New Details About Living With MS
Christina Applegate’s candid revelations about the impact of multiple sclerosis left us deeply moved. The 51-year-old actress bravely shared how the disease affects her daily life, emphasizing that ’’With the disease of MS, it’s never a good day”. Her openness about her fears and vulnerabilities only heightened our admiration for her courage.
Fear is part of her everyday life.
During a recent interview, Applegate reflected on the small blessings she used to overlook before being diagnosed with MS in 2021.
She noted that people ask her why she doesn’t take showers, and she explains that ’’getting in the shower is frightening.’’ The Dead to Me star added, ’’You can fall, you can slip, your legs can buckle. Especially because I have a glass shower. It’s frightening to me to get in there.’’
The 51-year-old went on admitting ’’There are just certain things that people take for granted in their lives that Itook for granted’’. She stated that some of them are simple daily tasks such as going down the stairs or carrying things.
The actress revealed that she can still manage to drive short distances and carry food upstairs to her daughter Sadie Grace who is 12, but she made it clear that she struggles with going ’’down, never up.’’
She pointed out ’’Gravity can just pull you down and take everything down with you.’’
Christina Applegate shares new details about living with MS.
In a recent appearance on ABC News, Applegate opened up about her journey with the degenerative disease. She revealed that even the act of sitting for the interview was challenging for her.
«I’m not out a lot, so this is a little difficult, just for my system,» she shared. «But of course, the support is wonderful, and I’m really grateful.»
She continued, «I’m not putting a time stamp on it. I’m never going to wake up and go, ’This is awesome!’ I’m just going to tell you that. It’s just not going to happen. I wake up and I’m reminded every day.»
She added, «I’m isolating and that’s kind of how I’m dealing with it by not going anywhere because I don’t want to do it. It’s hard.»
«(MS) can be very lonely because it’s hard to explain to people. I’m in excruciating pain, but I’m just used to it now.»
She’s not surrounded by too many people.
Despite the assumption that the actress has a support system of friends and family to assist her with everyday tasks, she revealed that she has kept her inner circle small since being diagnosed with MS. She admitted, ’’I actually don’t want to be around a lot of people because I’m immunocompromised.’’
Applegate shared that her friend lives with her during the week and assists her in taking care of Sadie. And on the weekends, a caretaker comes in.
Christina also mentioned that she prefers to avoid overstimulation of her nervous system as it can be overwhelming for her. Therefore, she tries to maintain a quiet and relaxed environment as much as possible.
She explained, ’’Imagine just being in a crowd of people and how loud that is. It’s like 5,000 times louder for anyone who has lesions on their brains.’’
Christina Applegate found unwavering support from her husband during her struggles with MS and breast cancer. His love and strength were pillars that upheld their family’s happiness, even in the face of adversity.
Preview photo credit VALERIE MACON/AFP/East News
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