Growing up, I was often told that there’s no Heaven on Earth.
In other words, it’s extremely unlikely that we’re ever going to find ourselves in a truly perfect situation in our lives. Even a healthy, loving family is going to have some drama from time to time and even the most beautiful of communities will have its share of annoying neighbors .
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And whether they’re fixated on trying to control your behavior or expecting you to be cool with every intrusion of theirs, it doesn’t take long before this type of neighbor is the source of a lot of headaches.
But when children are caught in the middle of a situation, it can often introduce doubt into what would otherwise seem like a clear right answer. And that concern is at the heart of one woman’s dilemma.
After receiving an inheritance, the woman was able to afford her dream house and her favorite part of that house is definitely the pool.
But while she said it’s helped her keep in shape and that she’d swim in it every day if she could, it seems that this sentiment is shared by her neighbor’s children.
As she explained in a Reddit post , their mother had told her that her house’s previous owners loved having them over all the time because they didn’t like quiet.
But in the woman’s words, “I told her I was uncomfortable with that arrangement, but perhaps they could come over OCCASIONALLY if they don’t abuse the privilege.”
But as far as she was concerned, abuse the privilege is precisely what her neighbor’s three kids did over the course of the summer.
And while she found it annoying that she wasn’t able to swim without them immediately coming over, her neighbor’s two teenage boys would prove particularly problematic.
That’s because they would often roughhouse and leer at the woman and her friends while making lewd comments.
So while her main reason for putting a fence around her pool was to accommodate her new dog, the woman admitted that the added privacy was a welcome bonus.
And when her neighbor saw construction begin, she ran over and learned to her dismay that there were no plans to install a gate that would give her children easy access to the pool.
As the woman put it, “Finally she asked, a little choked up, if I was depriving her kids of our pool. ‘OUR’ POOL?”
The neighbor tried to say that the woman was like a big sister to her kids, but then she reminded the neighbor that their comments about her body were hardly brotherly.
But while it may seem hard to know how she could feel like she’s in the wrong here, the woman reported that others in her life have made her feel guilty about this decision.
Upon learning this, the Reddit community reassured her that not only was building the fence her right and necessary for her dog’s safety, but also a protection from liability.
As one user put it , “Imagine what dear mother would say if something happened to one of her kids.”
Another user was particularly concerned about the lewd remarks, saying , “You should have talked to your neighbor earlier about her son’s comments and behavior. It wasn’t fair to yourself or your invited guests to let that kind of sexual harassment go on so long.”
To this, the woman replied that she had addressed it, but was told “boys will be boys.” The more we hear, the better the fence sounds.
h/t: Reddit | [deleted]