When Mrs. Johnson refused to pay my 12-year-old son, Ethan, after he spent two days mowing her massive lawn, I knew I had to step in. Initially, she seemed like a typical neighbor—distant and busy with her perfect life. But when Ethan came home dejected, saying she told him to “get lost” and that hard work was its own reward, my heart boiled with anger.
Determined to teach her a lesson, I devised a plan. I called my friend Mark, who owned a landscaping business, and arranged for him to creatively trim Mrs. Johnson’s beloved hedges into funny shapes. Then, I pretended to be her and ordered three truckloads of mulch to be dumped in her driveway.
The neighborhood buzzed with anticipation as the trucks arrived. When Mrs. Johnson finally came home, she was shocked to find her driveway blocked. As she stormed over, I couldn’t help but smile. When she demanded to know who was responsible, I calmly reminded her of her own lesson about hard work.
Cornered, she ultimately paid Ethan the twenty dollars she’d owed him, shoving the bill into his hands before rushing off. The satisfaction of seeing her embarrassment was palpable, and the story of her lesson lingered in the neighborhood long after the mulch was gone. Ethan learned about standing up for himself, and I felt proud of the message we sent together.