Really city, really?

So I come home from lunch. See something taped to the pole of my mailbox (which my dad informs me technically violates some federal law, and he used to work for the USPS as a college student....)

Yup. A letter from the city. Well, two. One informs me a complaint has been levied because of "grass and weeds" (The heck? My grass is shorter than the neighbor one house south of me. And yes, there are some weeds, my lawns is not a golf course, but they are all shorter than 6") and another about "trees and shrubs." (Oh hells no. If cutting the shrubs out of the alleyway wasn't enough, if they want my other trees gone - that is SO wrong).

It's possible, and I'm strongly hoping, this is just leftover red tape from the "you have to clear the alleyway" incident and when I call I will be told everything is OK.

(I can't just yet. Everyone is at lunch. Yeah. They get a one-hour lunch break. Longer than I do some days.)

If not, my dad counseled me to tell them they had to send someone out to meet with me and specifically show me the areas of concern. Because obviously I have some kind of a blind spot.

(Yes, the poison ivy still exists and I need to spray it again but I can't imagine a city so heartless as to tell a poison-ivy allergic person, "go out and pull it all up now.")

I'm also going to ask them - if it's not just a "Whoops, that letter got sent before we realized you'd dealt with it" situation - for the MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE HEIGHT for grass. Because I think mine would conform at the moment to even the most draconian regulations. (It wasn't even all that high Monday afternoon when I mowed it after break).

The phrase "A complaint has been lodged" worries me and makes me wonder if there's someone I've unintentionally ticked off or who wants to harass me.

If my lawn really is UNACCEPTABLE! I guess that means it's time to hire a lawn service (sigh) because obviously I'm not good enough to take care of it on my own.

I wish I didn't feel such shame over this. But I really do. I feel like a failure and a borderline criminal. I know, I care way too much about this but I try so hard to be a good citizen and it feels like I'm being set up to fail no matter what I do.

I'm enough of a perfectionist that I look at the letter and go, "Oh, there's some taller grass along the fenceline where it's hard to mow, that must be it, better get out there with some scissors." or "There are some weeds that I didn't pull out of that one garden, that must be it."

But that CAN'T be it, can it? My yard is not that awful, is it?

 Yes, I admit, I could do some edging. But I assure you, the grass is not taller than 3"

It's just, there's always something. I feel like I get to the point where I can relax and NOPE, there's some other darn thing that comes up that has to be dealt with. I don't like running from crisis to crisis but that feels like how it is.