Our neighbor smokes out her window. The smoke travels a little path directly to our windows. We don't notice it until it is too late and we are head ache-y and cough-y and sore throat-y.

My girls have asthma. This means that this attack from the girl next store is a big deal. This means they will have asthma attacks in the middle of the night while they sleep. This means they have to sleep with us so that we hear them. This means that we are all in one big bed and we are not comfortable. This means that we do not sleep well. I could go on and on. The winter was fine because we didn't open the windows, but with spring coming, we are noticing it.

I put a note under her door a few weeks ago. We thought she had stopped. But today I was feeling sick and Rachi was rubbing her eyes and Jeff came in to say that the neighbor was smoking out her window again.

I wonder if smokers feel this bad all the time. Like irritable and scratchy throat and head ache-y? If they do, they must be the most miserable people on the planet.

When I was 5, I watched an EMT put one of those hole things in my maternal grandmother's throat. She was a smoker and miserable. I remember thinking, wow, that is dumb, hurting yourself like that. But it was the 70's and she was a poor old woman. Our neighbor is young and lives in the future. So I wonder what her excuse is. I am sorry, but whatever it is, I feel no sympathy. She is pathetic for being addicted to something so disgusting.

So, I put a new note on her door, asking her to please stop harming us. Will see how much of a bad guy she really is. It is likely that someone else will have to deal with her for us. Unfortunately, it is not illegal in DC to smoke in your apartment. I could take my kids to bar and be smoke-free there, though. Perhaps we will go sleep at a bar.

For now, we close all the windows. We shut out the coming spring.