She stood there for several minutes explaining that roses should be arranged differently because the way I had planted mine “ruined the appearance” of the street.
I politely listened.
Then I went back inside.
I had four children, a home to manage, and a thousand other things to worry about.
I wasn’t going to spend my life arguing with my neighbor about flowers.
But Katherine kept finding reasons to complain.
And eventually, her attention turned toward my children.
One warm summer afternoon, the kids were swimming while I was inside preparing dinner.
The windows were open, and I could hear them laughing outside.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Then suddenly, I heard shouting.
At first, I assumed one of the children had fallen or gotten hurt.
I dropped what I was doing and rushed outside.
Instead, I found Katherine standing inside my backyard.
She had opened the gate in my fence and walked straight onto my property without knocking or asking permission.
She was standing beside the pool, angrily scolding my children.
“Enough!” she yelled.
My children immediately stopped playing.
They looked frightened and confused.
I walked toward Katherine.
“What happened?”
She turned toward me as if I were the one who had done something wrong.
“Your kids are TOO LOUD,” she snapped. “I need some peace and quiet!”
I looked at my children.