This past December, I changed my front yard into a winter wonderland.
Reindeer with twinkling lights danced across the lawn, an inflatable Santa waved to passersby, and a large rainbow-lit sleigh took center stage.
One evening, while cleaning up my kitchen, I heard a crash.
Surprised, I dashed to the window. To my amazement, my neighbor Linda’s children, Ethan, Mia, and tiny Jacob, were running through my yard like it was a playground… except they intended to ruin everything in their path.
Ethan was 11, so he was old enough to recognize what he was doing incorrectly. Nonetheless, he got inside the sleigh and began shaking it for some reason.
Meanwhile, eight-year-old Mia tugged the reindeer’s lights, chuckling. Finally, their younger brother kicked the inflatable Santa until it wobbled dangerously.
The worst part was that their mother was sitting on the porch, scrolling through her phone.
“Linda!” I called while swinging my arms.
“Your kids are wrecking my decorations! Didn’t you see them?” I indicated to Ethan, who was now hopping up and down inside my sleigh. “Can you get them out of my yard?”
Linda looked up, shrugged, and returned to her phone. “They’re just kids having fun. What’s the big deal?”
Linda eventually met my gaze, after rolling her eyes. “Maybe if your display wasn’t so flashy, it wouldn’t attract attention.”
Her children had no right to damage other people’s stuff, even if I could afford to repair everything quickly.
The wrath coursing through me over insignificant yard decorations confirmed it: I had become one of those elderly folks. But, honestly, these kids were acting quite spoilt and entitled.
Still, shrieking “Get off my lawn!” wasn’t going to help, so I took another deep breath and turned back to my neighbor.
“Linda, let’s be reasonable. I understand kids will be kids, but this is just plain disrespectful. Can you please do something?”
“It’s just decorations. Get over it. Besides, the kids are already on to something else.”
After redoing everything, I heard the three children go back to their house, laughing. It was a taunting sound, but I thought that one day of rowdiness would suffice for them.
The vandalism persisted. Linda’s children caused havoc with my decorations every night, and I wasn’t always aware of it. They had gotten stealthy.
One morning, I discovered my sled had tilted. The lights on the reindeer were entirely damaged, and my Santa was completely deflated.
I decided to confront Linda again. I marched over with my laptop, prepared to show her the footage. “Look,” I replied, pressing play. “This is your kids wrecking my yard. AGAIN.”
“I could show this to our HOA or call the police!”
She barked a laugh. “Do whatever you need to do, sweetheart. It’s just decorations. They’ll laugh at you for making a fuss over something so ridiculous. Now, stop bothering me with these s.t.u.p.i.d things.”
I was done being nice about it.
But, what could I do? These were children, after all, with a careless mother. She was the one who needed to learn an important lesson.
An hour later, I emerged from the craft store, equipped with industrial-strength spray glue and multiple jars of glitter.
I delicately covered each detail, being careful to match the original colors so that nothing appeared incorrect.
Later, I walked inside and waited. Sure enough, when the sun went down, I heard giggles.
But then came an “Eww!”, quick and satisfying, like music to my ears.
“Why is this sticky?” Ethan yelped, pulling his hand back.
Jacob, the youngest, frowned. “It won’t come off!” He wiped his hands on his jeans, spreading the glitter even further.
Ethan stepped out of the sleigh and discovered that his clothing were likewise covered in glitter. He persuaded the others to return to their home, and I heard them shout, “Mom!”
Linda stormed out in only a few minutes. “What did you do?” she shrieked, pointing at her house where her kids waited, covered in glitter.
I shrugged. “I w.a.r.n.ed you, Linda. I had to protect my property.”
Later that evening, I noticed her carrying a vacuum cleaner out of her car through my window. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
It took them days to remove all the glitter. It seems that justice arrived bright and glittering this time of year.
Her children stayed out of my yard after that, and to my surprise, other neighbors heard what I’d done and expressed their gratitude. Linda’s children have also interfered with their decorations.
So, will I do it again? Absolutely.
And I’m going to be even more festive next Christmas. Just to spite Linda.
