DEAR MISS MANNERS: We will be moving out of our house for 10 months during a major renovation. Although we will escape the noise and the chaos, our neighbors will not. There will be the usual trucks, mess and noise that go with any construction project.
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We're going to follow all the legal guidelines for the project (permits, neighborhood notifications, etc.). But in the interest of being a courteous neighbor, what other things should we do? Drop off earplugs? Send apologies? What does Miss Manners recommend?
GENTLE READER: The people in the middle seats in the airplane or the theater understand that they have to let you through to your seat, but you still apologize for the inconvenience. The process is repeated for each trip to the bathroom or the popcorn stand.
At some point, even the most understanding fellow patron will wonder if forgoing the third drink purchase might have also obviated the necessity for the third bathroom stop.
You will be stepping on your neighbors' toes for 10 months. More than a casual apology -- or a gesture that might be seen as minimizing the discomfort you are about to cause -- is needed. If you hope to find them still neighborly on your return, Miss Manners recommends that your firm apology be accompanied by your phone number and a promise that, when problems inevitably crop up, you will be both available and willing to fix them quickly.