A few months ago, the Bad Asian Mom (BAM) family moved into a much better apartment than the one we were in before. It was shaded and in a newer complex, with a pool in back (we took a swim in it today).

We found out that for some reason, the previous tenants of this apartment didn't live here long. One was in trouble with the immigration authorities, and another left for unknown reasons. They only lived here for a few months at most.

Which is probably why our next-door neighbor rued the day we moved in. It must have been very nice for them to have no neighbors next door for a long time.

I wish we were better friends with our neighbors. You'd think that we would click instantly. They have wonderful, lovely kids---in fact, one is just a year younger than my son. My husband and my neighbor both love car racing. Our families are both mixed-race families too. We have a lot in common. We even watched fireworks together on the Fourth of July.

But there's one thing my neighbor has consistently done that has bothered me. During the summer we all tend to keep our front door and windows open. Whenever my son would have one of his two year-old temper tantrums---slam! went their front door. At first I thought that maybe they normally were a little heavy-handed when they closed their door. But I later noticed that on nights when all was quiet, they would close their door quietly, like any other normal soul. The door slamming seemed to be a statement about their displeasure with our son's volume level.

You'd think that someone who has a baby themselves (and their baby cries and gets loud sometimes, too) would be understanding of a two year-old's outbursts. We have never slammed our door when their baby got loud. I noticed that at times they try to shush their baby, too, but they don't slam their door shut when that happens; in fact, they don't even shut it if it's open.

It got to the point where I begged my husband to shut the window whenever our son stared crying, to avoid offending the neighbors. This worked for awhile, but last night, when he didn't react quickly enough, we heard the familiar slam again.

My husband tells me not to think too much about it or get upset, but this behavior bothers me. I also wish that we were better friends with our neighbors because it would be nice to have someone looking out for my family while I am visiting my parents.

I wonder if I am overreacting? Or do I have the right to be upset? I feel a little resentful that I am forced to modify my behavior for my neighbors, but at the first sign of noise, they slam the door again, without giving us a chance. My son's tantrums don't normally last very long; five minutes tops, and he quiets down again. Sure, close the door if it bothers you, but do you have to slam it? To me, the slamming is a statement.

Somehow I think my neighbors sometimes wish we weren't around.