Problems in Suburbia

I took this picture earlier this summer while on a walk with the boys. Maybe a phone call
on some jerky kids could have kept this fence from being vandalized. Just saying.

Tonight I called the police... On teenagers walking by, drinking, and yelling the F-word at the top of their lungs.

Matt and I were sitting in the living room when we heard crazy screaming in front of our house. I thought it was a fist fight. Matt thought that one of our neighbors was robbed and was chasing down the guy who did it. We both jumped up, ran to the window and saw four boys acting like fools, screaming profanities, and drinking something. So, I called the police.

I don't know why I called the police. It was a reflex, really. I told Matt I didn't want them stomping on our flowers or doing something to our car. Granted, both were possibilities, but I was also pissed that kids were screaming like that 20 feet from the windows of my sleeping kids.

So, here is the question: Does living in the suburbs mean you shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff? When we lived in the city people walking down the street screaming was a constant annoyance, but it was never police call worthy. Do I feel entitled simply by living in this zip code? Possibly.

So, what's a mom to do?  How would this situation have been best handled? I figure these were our options:

1. Open the door and confront the kids, which could have resulted in our house/car getting egged or us being told to f-off by some teens
2. Ignore it and let the jerky kids carry on and possibly wake up our kids, vandalize something, etc.
3. Call the police to figure it out for us

Given those options, I'll stick with #3. They don't call me Alderman Hanneman for nothing.