\nMy Neighbor Threw Rotten Tomatoes at My Front Door Because I Didn\u2019t Put up Halloween Decorations \u2018Soon Enough\u2019\n
While my seven-year-old daughter, who suffered from severe pneumonia, fought for her life in the hospital, my neighbor decided to \u201cdecorate\u201d my front door with rotten tomatoes. All because I hadn\u2019t put up Halloween decorations early enough for her liking.\n
One Tuesday, my daughter, Lacey, came home from school with a slight cough. Initially, I thought it was just a cold. It didn\u2019t look like anything serious. But by Friday night, she was burning up with a fever. That was when I realized something was extremely wrong with her.\n
Instead of waiting for an ambulance, I wrapped her in a blanket and drove to the ER.
\nFortunately, the doctors moved fast.\n
\n
Words like \u201csevere pneumonia,\u201d \u201caggressive infection,\u201d and \u201cextended stay\u201d flew around while they ran tests on her. After what seemed like an eternity, the ER doctor finally sat down with me.\n
\u201cThe infection\u2019s in both lungs,\u201d he explained gently. \u201cShe\u2019s going to need intensive treatment. We\u2019re looking at a minimum of three weeks in the hospital.\u201d\n
\u201cThree weeks?\u201d I looked at him with wide eyes. \u201cBut\u2026 but I have to work. The insurance\u2026 it doesn\u2019t cover everything.\u201d\n
\u201cLet\u2019s focus on getting her better first. You can speak with our financial department about payment plans.\u201d\n
I\u2019ve been doing this solo parent thing for five years now, ever since my husband, Mark, left for his twenty-something secretary. The divorce knocked us down hard, but my daughter Lacey is a fighter. We didn\u2019t let Mark\u2019s poor decisions affect us.\n
I worked as a waitress and picked up extra shifts after getting divorce. Living on a single income taught me a lesson about how to stretch every dollar and avoid unnecessary expenses.\n
Last year, we even managed to move into this supposedly \u201cbetter\u201d neighborhood.\n
\n
Luckily, my co-worker, Maria, has been my rock through all this, covering for me when hospital visits run long.\n
Hospital bills were piling up faster than I could count, but what choice did I have? My baby needed me, and I had to work harder for her.\n
Maria was worried for me, \u201cYou look dead on your feet. When\u2019s the last time you got some real sleep?\u201d\n
I just shook my head. \u201cSleep\u2019s a luxury I can\u2019t afford right now. Between the hospital visits and these double shifts\u2026\u201d\n
\u201cAt least you\u2019ve got good neighbors to help out, right?\u201d Maria asked.\n
I let out a bitter laugh thinking about my neighbor Carla, who could give surveillance cameras a run for their money. Ever since we moved in, she\u2019s appointed herself as the neighborhood\u2019s personal CNN. Carla\u2019s Nosy Network.\n
Just last month, she caused a whole drama with the Hendersons across the street just because of the painting color for their family front door.\n
Carla\u2019s the type who doesn\u2019t just check her mailbox. She watches everyone else check theirs too. She keeps a literal notebook of when people bring their trash cans in and out.\n
I swear I\u2019ve seen her peeking through her blinds so often. That\u2019s why I wasn\u2019t surprised when she started blowing up our HOA group chat about Halloween preparations in mid-September.\n
Every day brought a new message about \u201cmaintaining neighborhood standards\u201d and \u201cpreserving property values through seasonal charm.\u201d\n
But Lacey is still in the hospital, festive decorations were the last thing on my mind.\n
That\u2019s when my phone buzzed again. Another message from Carla, but this time sent directly to me.\n
I was in shock when I read her text.\n
\n
Are you special or something? Why isn\u2019t your house decorated for Halloween? It\u2019s almost the end of October, and your house is the only one ruining the vibe. Do you want to spoil Halloween for the whole neighborhood? It\u2019s embarrassing.\n
I took a deep breath before typing out a response\n
\u201cCarla, I\u2019m sorry I haven\u2019t decorated. I\u2019ve been in the hospital with my daughter for two weeks now. She\u2019s really sick, and all my money\u2019s gone to medicine and bills. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll be able to put anything up this year.\u201d\n
Well, I didn\u2019t get a response from Carla, so I thought she must\u2019ve found something else to worry about.\n
After three weeks, Lacey was finally well enough to come home. But a putrid, sickening odor made my stomach turn.\n
Our front door was completely covered in smashed, rotten tomatoes. A note was taped right in the middle. It read:\n
Now at least it looks a bit like Halloween. No need to thank me.\n
I was so angry that my feet were almost shaking.\n
I got Lacey settled inside, made sure she was comfortable in bed, and then stormed over to Carla\u2019s house. I could see her peeking through her blinds as I approached.\n
When she opened the door, that smug smile on her face made me want to scream.\n
\u201cOh, hey there. Enjoying the Halloween decorations?\u201d she asked.\n
\u201cAre you kidding me, Carla?\u201d I snapped. \u201cI told you what I was dealing with. You know my daughter\u2019s been in the hospital, and you still did this?\u201d\n
She rolled her eyes like I was being dramatic. \u201cLook, I just thought you were making excuses. Everyone decorates, and it\u2019s unfair for you to spoil it for the rest of us. I thought a little tomato juice might remind you to get into the spirit. You didn\u2019t put up the decorations soon enough. Not my fault.\u201d\n
Before I could respond, her husband Dan appeared. He was horrified after hearing his wife\u2019s confession.\n
\u201cCarla, what the hell is wrong with you?\u201d he demanded. \u201cYou did what?\u201d\n
Dan pulled Carla inside, and confronted her. The muffled argument was punctuated by phrases like \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d and \u201clost your mind.\u201d\n
When Dan returned to the door, he was embarrassed.\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d he said. \u201cI had no idea she\u2019d do something like this. I\u2019ll clean up your door and pay for any damages. Carla, you better apologize right now.\u201d\n
Carla emerged and apologised to me. That was the most insincere apology I\u2019d ever heard.\n
But this isn\u2019t where the story ends. Karma intervened a few hours later and taught her an unforgettable lesson.\n
That night, the strongest storm of the season hit our neighborhood.\n
\n
The wind howled like a banshee, and the rain was heavy. When I looked out my window the next morning, I couldn\u2019t help but laugh at the irony.\n
Carla\u2019s elaborate Halloween display which she\u2019d been bragging about for weeks was absolutely decimated. Her precious inflatable decorations were scattered across three yards, her meticulously carved pumpkins had turned to mush in the rain, and her collection of \u201cpremium\u201d skeletons lay broken and tangled in the bushes.\n
Mother Nature had delivered the perfect rev:enge.\n
Dan followed through on his promise, showing up early the next day with cleaning supplies and groceries.\n
\u201cI can\u2019t apologize enough,\u201d he said while scrubbing the last bits of tomato off my door. \u201cHow\u2019s your daughter doing?\u201d\n
\u201cShe\u2019s getting stronger every day,\u201d I replied. \u201cThanks for asking. And thanks for, uh, everything else.\u201d\n
Since then Carla hasn\u2019t spoken a word to me and I\u2019ve been loving the silence. When I pass by her house these days and see her bare lawn, I can\u2019t help but smile a little.\n
Sometimes karma doesn\u2019t just come around. It blows through like a hurricane.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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