Update: 'While I could have argued... I had a better plan': Neighbor warns college kid that if her lawn isn't mowed, she'll report them to HOA

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 26, 2023 5:00 PM EST

Common sense isn't gifted to every person. Sometimes things will seem so crystal clear to you, and so obvious, that you can't understand how anyone could mess it up. But without common sense, people do dumb things. This woman in particular had a bone to pick with her neighbor, and I bet you can guess why her neighbor was refusing to mow her lawn for her. 

While some people really dislike mowing the lawn, others find it cathartic. If you can listen to music or a podcast over the crazy loud sound of the machine, it's not so bad. At least it's a good workout, while you're also doing a necessary chore. 

U/somethingintheyard told a story that happened to them as a college student, during a time where they were in the habit of mowing the grass for their parents. The OP didn't mind it too much, and they even mow another neighbor's yard just out of the goodness of their heart. That's what good neighbors do---they take care of one another. That respect has to go both ways though, as the OP's crabby neighbor quickly discovered. 

Scroll down to read up on this grassy disaster. Then, check out a workplace story. 

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  • 01
    What do you mean you won't mow my lawn when you can't even mow your own? L First time posting here, just need to rant and thank you for reading. Also on mobile, so sorry for formatting.
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 02
    To give some backstory, I'm a 19 year old in community college living in a small neighborhood in my parents old, small house. I mow my own lawn, which is reasonably small, because there is no HOA and I can't hire anyone to do it for me. (Also the sun and exercise is great). Three of my neighbors are either elderly, don't have the time, or don't own mowers of their own, so I mow their reasonably small lawns for free at the same time I mow mine. I live in a very close
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 03
    neighborhood, so while I may do mowing, another neighbor may power wash driveways or some such. Let's just say I mow out of the goodness of my heart, and get compensated with a bottle of cold water afterward by two out of the three. The third, however, is where the malicious compliance begins. The third neighbor is a very stubborn, forty-something year old lady who
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 04
    1. Owns her own mower. 2. Can afford to hire someone to do it for her. 3. Is very specific about how and when her lawn gets done, even though it's free. Reason three me off the most, honestly because she does not let me use my mower, or fix hers. Seriously, it's like she's punishing me for volunteering to help her. And this mower. Is. A. Piece. Of. 1. The blades are dull, and she doesn't let me
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 05
    sharpen them. It's clogged full of old grass, she doesn't let me clean it. And yet every time I ask if I can tidy it up, she snaps "Quit wasting time and just get the job done!" She is mean, entitled, and doesn't care that I do four lawns in one day. Even on days where I can't mow the lawn because I'm feeling under the weather, or am just to busy with school, she threatens to call the "HOA" (again we don't have one) and repor me for running a business without a license, unless I get the
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 06
    lawn mowed. I'm pretty sure of three things, you don't need a license to mow a lawn, it's not a business since I don't ask for money or compensation, and that she doesn't have the number for the home owners association that doesn't exist. I honestly should have stopped volunteering to mow her lawn a long time ago, but I just never had the heart. Except for last week. It's July, rainy, and very hot, and on the morning I was
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 07
    "scheduled" to mow, it poured like a sonofabitch. Now those of you who mow lawns know, you can't, or rather, shouldn't mow your lawn directly after it rains for various reasons, and my neighborhood is pretty shaded so it takes at least a day to dry up. So around five o clock in the afternoon, I'm just relaxing and enjoying the free time, when out of nowhere there is a frantic smashing of a fist on my door (I
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 08
    would call it pounding, but it honestly wasn't). Lo and behold, it's SL (stubborn lady), looking annoyed as ever. As soon as I crack my door, the yelling starts, and I'm almost blasted back as she tries to push my door open. I couldn't make out most of what she was saying, but I did hear the words "lazy", "brat", and "millennial" thrown in there. I'm pretty laid back and used to dealing with angry adults, so this doesn't irk me all that much, but when she pushed the door open,
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 09
    that started to me off. Then she started to talk in an understanding voice. SL: WHY ISN'T MY LAWN MOWED?! I NEED IT MOWED RIGHT NOW! Me: Ma'am it rained pretty heavily today and I can't m- SL:I DON'T GIVE A RATS WHAT THE WEATHER IS LIKE, YOU BETTER GET YOUR OUT THERE, I HAVE COMPANY!
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 10
    Me: Ma'am, I'm not going to do your lawn, I didn't even mow my own today. Please stop harassing me! SL: (with her teeth clenched and neck veins popping) if you don't mow the lawn RIGHT NOW I will report you like I should have done a long time ago Now while I could have argued, which I don't like to do, I had thought of a better plan. |
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 11
    Me: sigh alright ma'am, may I at least use my mower? SL: no way you snot nosed kid, I want my lawn exactly the way I like it. My plan was in action. So, grabbing her lawn mower, and seeing that her and her company's freshly rained on "fancy" cars were all right on the edge of the lawn, I started to mow. I only got about halfway through before the mower completely shut down due to
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 12
    clogging and the sheer dullness of the blade, but it all worked out. Later that day after a nice shower and meal, I heard the reaction to my compliance, which was, to my amusement, the insane screaming and ranting about why the lawn was only half done and every car was caked in mud and grass. I only got in trouble with her, as none of my neighbors liked her very much, and of course she threatened again to
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 13
    report me to the nonexistent HOA, to which I said go ahead, and then once and for all told her that I refuse to mow her lawn ever again. TL:DR- Was threatened by a lady to mow lawn for no pay on a rainy day, covered her fancy car with mud and grass clippings.
    via u/somethingintheyard
  • 14
    Update: since I'm getting so many positive comments, I would just like to add that the other neighbors are going super out of their way and pitching me a few dollars to help me buy a brand new self propelled mower! Go neighborliness!!!
    via u/somethingintheyard

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hoa lawn lawn mower malicious compliance house home owners association driveway malicious-compliance-reddit mowing the lawn grass malicious compliance reddit home parking
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