After spending weeks caring for my sick mom, I came back to find my beloved flower garden completely ruined. Instead of my colorful blooms, there were dozens of tacky plastic gnomes everywhere. It was my mother-in-law, Linda, who had taken it upon herself to “give the garden a makeover” while I was away.

Linda and I have never gotten along. She’s always been controlling and loves to interfere, especially in things she doesn’t understand—like my garden, which is my sanctuary and passion. She constantly criticized my style, pushing her cold, minimalist ideas that clash with the cozy garden I worked so hard on.

Before I left, I asked my husband Tom to care for the plants, but he didn’t stop Linda when she insisted on redecorating. When I saw what she’d done, I was heartbroken and furious. Confronting her only made things worse: she insulted me, dismissed my feelings, and even expected us to pay her back for the ugly gnomes.

But karma had other plans. A week later, Linda called me in a panic her own perfectly manicured garden had been destroyed by a family of wild raccoons. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of justice. I told her maybe if she spent less time ruining other people’s gardens and more time caring for her own, she wouldn’t be in this mess. I left her with the gnomes as a “gift” and walked away knowing the universe had balanced the scales at last.