My Neighbor Sent Her Son to Mow My Lawn and Demanded $50—So I Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine

Becoming a homeowner at 29 was a dream—until my neighbor tried to turn it into her business. One afternoon, I came home to find her son mowing my lawn. He sheepishly admitted his mom had sent him and expected $50. I refused, reminding him to always ask first.

The next day, his mother stormed over, furious that I hadn’t paid. She claimed she was being “neighborly” by deciding my yard “needed it.” That’s when I decided to return the favor.

The following weekend, while she was out, I boxed up every single one of her gaudy lawn ornaments—gnomes, flamingos, giant “Live Laugh Love” sign—and stored them in my garage. When she came home screaming, I told her I was just being “neighborly” too.

She sputtered, furious, until her son returned. I handed him $50 anyway, telling him hard work matters—but permission matters more. We put her decorations back together, and though she never apologized, a tray of slightly burnt cookies showed up on my porch a week later.

Homeownership taught me my first big lesson: boundaries matter—and sometimes the best way to teach that is by holding up a mirror.