Larry, the HOA president, used his clipboard like a weapon to enforce silly rules with an iron hand in a quiet neighbourhood. He didn’t mean to start a movement when he fined me for having a lawn that was half an inch too long.
I refused to give up, even though I had been to a lot of PTA meetings and had nappy blowouts before. With the help of the HOA handbook, I found a way around the rules: yard decorations were okay as long as they followed certain rules.
I took advantage of the chance and turned my yard into a colourful wonderland with solar lights, gnomes and flamingos.
Each addition was carefully thought out to follow the rules while also making Larry more and more crazy. He kept bothering me, so I put up more decorations and turned my yard into a funfair in response.
My neighbours were moved by my defiance and joined in. Soon, gnomes, flamingos, and twinkling lights were all over the cul-de-sac.
Larry’s clipboard became a sign of how badly he tried to control us and failed. Each day that went by, his power decreased, and our group got stronger. We beat him at his own game by breaking the rules he had set up.
I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the chaos happen. Larry had forgotten how strong a neighbourhood can be when everyone works together and how determined a woman who has been hurt can be. There was no going back once the big lawn rebellion began.
