There have been some tough times for me as a single mum, but nothing as unexpected as what happened when I got back from a week-long trip. Jeffrey, my neighbour, put up a fence around my land that blocked my view and windows. I had to stand up for myself, but I also wanted to teach him something he would never forget.
Jeff and I had a fight the first day we met. He wanted to build a fence for protection, but I told him he couldn’t because the previous owner’s contract wasn’t valid. He didn’t care about my worries and went ahead with his plans.
I knew I had to move quickly when I saw the fence. I was not going to let him off the hook. I chose to do something about it myself and came up with a clever way to teach him a lesson.
I bought a spray that cats and dogs like and covered the whole fence with it. As I waited, the fence soon became a draw for stray dogs, cats, and even a moose! The smell was awful, and every morning Jeffrey had to clean up the mess.
The smell got worse over the days, and people in the neighbourhood started to complain. Even though Jeffrey felt bad about it, he wouldn’t take down the fence. That is, until our neighbour Mrs. Thompson told him about the smell.
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of people taking down the fence. I was shocked when my plan worked! Jeffrey finally knew what he had to do.
He said sorry later that day and promised to respect my rights as a neighbour and my land. I took his apology seriously, and we began again.
Now that I look back, I see that life often needs creative solutions to problems that come up out of the blue. It made me feel good to stand up for my family and myself, and I’m glad Jeffrey learnt something from it.
