I've recently realised something amazing. Honestly, how haven't I realised this before? I was thinking about my ex best friend, the nosiest woman in the world, and telling myself she wasn't all bad and that actually she's very kind hearted and she'd do anything for anyone.
Got issues at home? She's your woman. Need a lift to the hospital? She's your woman. Then it hit me.
Here it is *drumroll please*
Of course she's so helpful. Nosy people don't find out everything by being on the edge of the action. Nosy people need to be right in there, involved, feeling important and then telling everyone else about it all. My mum, being a very private person, hated nosy people with a passion. We were always brought up to mind our own business. I put up with it with ex best friend because we grew up together. I'd just close my ears to the gossip, put it down to her just being her and overlook it, hard as that sometimes was.
During my musings it hit me though. She's not the only one.
I realised that our ever so helpful next door neighbours are exactly the same. If there's anything happening at Ivory Towers then they are the first ones on the scene. If they can't actually get to the scene they'll be hanging out of their windows trying to get a good look. Actually, a lot of the neighbours do that, some of them don't have a lot going on their lives.
Prime example: We had a man come to fix a window last week ( he didn't fix it but that's another story). Hubby called me from the bedroom to tell me he'd arrived. When I got to the living room Window Man was there - and looking straight over his shoulder, craning their necks to look at the photos he was trying to show me were the next door neighbours! I couldn't actually get close enough for a look. Window Man kept looking at me as perplexed as I was. Then next door gave me all the advice they thought I needed before heading off to the flat downstairs to see if there were any window issues that they could report back on.
The more I thought about it the more I realised it's a fact: The most helpful people are the ones who are most interested in finding out all your business, giving you the benefit of their vastly superior advice and generally interfering in things that are none of their business before telling all of your business to all and sundry.
You might think that's a bit of a sweeping statement and it is. Of course not all helpful and friendly people are nosy bastids. Some people genuinely just want to help with no ulterior motive, I know many such people. That's why it was a shock when I realised that my new neighbours are interfering busybodies.
That sounds like they are awful, they aren't, they are perfectly nice and helpful (of course) people, they just like to get a little bit too involved.
In future they'll be getting told to mind their own beeswax while I set about putting in place some healthy boundaries.
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