My FIL Got Rid of My Beloved Flower Garden & Dug a Pool for Himself without Permission \u2013 But Karma Hit Him Back Harshly I was furious when my father-in-law Richard destroyed my prized garden to make room for his unapproved swimming pool. However, karma operates in mysterious ways, as the saying goes. His ideal endeavor became a nightmare when a series of unanticipated occurrences transpired.I never imagined the day would come when karma would catch up with me, but boy, did it ever.\n
This is going to be an exciting read, so pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit down.I never imagined the day would come when karma would catch up with me, but boy, did it ever. This is going to be an exciting read, so pour yourself a cup of coffee and sit down.Allow me to introduce myself first. I\u2019m Linda; I\u2019m a forty-year-old English teacher at a high school who lives with my father-in-law Richard and my husband Tom.Tom and I have been together since college and have been married for fifteen amazing years. Before Richard moved in with us almost two years ago following the death of my mother-in-law, everything was going really well .Now, Richard isn\u2019t the most pleasant person to be around. He believes he is the expert on everything and has opinions on just about everything. Although there has always been some tension in our relationship, I have done everything in my power to make it work for Tom. Living together, however, has been, to put it mildly, difficult.Since Tom and I don\u2019t have kids, I\u2019ve dedicated years of my life to our backyard.\n
My tiny bit of paradise was a verdant grass encircled by vibrant flower beds that I had grown from seedlings. After a demanding day of educating grumpy teenagers, gardening became my passion, my haven, and my go-to method for relaxing.I would be out there every weekend and free moment, taking care of my plants and enjoying their growth and splendor. It was what kept me occupied, content, and sane\u2014it was more than simply a pastime. However, Richard? His intentions for my haven were different. It began rather casually. When we were wrapping up dinner one evening, Richard cleared his throat. \u201cLinda, Tom, I\u2019ve been thinking.\u201d I glanced across at Tom. Richard\u2019s remarks usually signaled trouble. \u201cThe backyard,\u201d Richard went on, \u201cis simply sitting there. It\u2019s time to install a pool.\u201dI almost swallowed my water. \u201cA swimming pool? Where would we even put it, Richard? The backyard isn\u2019t that large.His hand was waved off dismissively. \u201cWe\u2019ll adjust it to fit. You know, while the two of you are at work, I get bored. I would love having a pool with my buddies. Particularly on these sweltering summer days.\u201d God bless him, Tom tried talking sense into his father\u2019s head. \u201cDad, Linda has worked really hard in the garden. It is not possible to just take out all of the lovely blooms. A pool also comes with a lot of maintenance and price. You really can\u2019t do it, in my opinion.\u201d\n
Richard, though, would not have it. He would bring it up at every chance he got for weeks. \u201cLinda, imagine how nice it would be to cool off on hot days,\u201d and \u201cTom, think of the pool parties we could have!\u201dI refused to back down. I apologize, Richard, but it\u2019s just not feasible. My garden is my passion, but the yard is too tiny. You cannot dig a pool there, in my opinion. It isn\u2019t taking place. That seemed to be the end of it to me. However, I was mistaken. This was only the start.Tom and I made the decision to go see my parents one weekend. Nice change from Richard\u2019s nonstop chatter about the pool. We planned to return Sunday evening, so we departed early on Saturday morning.I felt something was wrong that Sunday as we arrived into our house after a wonderful day with my folks. There were muddy tire tracks all over the front yard. As we turned the bend into the backyard, my stomach churned. I had eyes I couldn\u2019t believe. There was a huge hole where my lovely garden used to be. It was surrounded by mounds of dirt, and most of my meticulously cultivated flowers were vanished. < Richard stood in the center of it all, beaming like he had just won the lotto. \u201cOh, finally decided to come back, have you?\u201d He was snarky. \u201cI\u2019ve put you in the pool. Please don\u2019t thank me.I was unable to speak. But Tom let loose with an explosive. \u201cDaddy! How inconceivable could you have been? We warned you about doing this.\u201d\n
Richard simply gave a shrug. \u201cAfter it\u2019s over, you\u2019ll thank me. On the diggers, I scored a fantastic deal.\u201d Tears began to form in my eyes. In one weekend, my own father-in-law undid all of my hard work. How could he not see how much my plants meant to me? How come he destroyed my lovely garden?Tom wrapped his arm around me and ushered me inside after noticing my silent tears.\u201cLinda, I\u2019ll handle him. He said, \u201cPlease don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d \u201cThere will be no pool built by him, I promise. And your plants\u2026 I\u2019ll get a skilled gardener to help me makeover the backyard to your ideal state. Alright? Please refrain from crying.\u201d I awoke the following morning believing it had all been a bad dream. However, a quick glance out the window proved the nightmare was genuine. It was the diggers again.Karma chose to see Richard while they were working, and that\u2019s when I saw our neighbor, Mrs. Jensen, strolling her small dog, Buster. Mrs. Jensen had never been good friends with Richard and was a stickler for rules and regulations. She surprised me by approaching Richard directly and grinning sweetly. She said, \u201cRichard, darling, did you know there are regulations about how close you can dig to a property line?\u201d in an overly charming voice. Richard sneered. Margaret, I know what I\u2019m doing. Keep your distance from me.\u201dMrs. Jensen grinned more broadly. \u201cWell, you should be aware that I\u2019m really close with the city inspector. I\u2019ll phone him and find out his thoughts. I observed Richard\u2019s face losing its color. Before he could object, Mrs. Jensen was conversing on her phone. An hour later, a city inspector showed up at our door.\n
After glancing at the disorderliness in our backyard, he shook his head. I apologize, sir, but this is entirely against the code of conduct. You will need to complete this right away. Sputtering, Richard said, \u201cBut\u2026 but\u2026\u201d The inspector had not been completed. \u201cAnd I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll have to issue a fine for starting construction without proper permits.\u201dIt was unbelievable to me. Karma existed and it was at full force. But there\u2019s still more. A loud crack appeared as the contractors began to fill in the hole. All of a sudden, water started to flow everywhere. They had apparently struck an ancient water pipe! Our property consequently swiftly became a muddy bog. Richard, poor Richard, slid a few minutes later and plunged face-first into the muck. Tom and I observed the mayhem from the porch. Richard was screaming at the contractors while completely soaked in mud. His ideal garden retreat was practically disappearing, and his favorite suit was destroyed.Ultimately, Richard was responsible for covering all costs, such as the fine, pipe repairs, backyard repairs, and basement cleanup. It was an expensive lesson in following the laws and being considerate of other people\u2019s property. Richard\u2019s enthusiasm for home renovations disappeared after that day. These days, he stays in his room by himself most of the time. He turns his nose up at the mention of the word \u201cpool\u201d and walks out of the room. In my garden, I\u2019ve been able to replant most of it, but it took some time.\n
It\u2019s even better today, in a way. Every blossom seems like a tiny triumph over Richard\u2019s foolish schemes. In addition, Mrs. Jensen is now a close friend. She always gives me a wink and says, \u201cI hope nobody\u2019s digging up a pool in your backyard,\u201d when she sees me tending to the garden.Tom and I continue to chuckle at the entire incident. We now always tell this anecdote at dinner parties. \u201cDid we ever tell you about the time Richard tried to build a pool?\u201d Tom will begin, and our friends take their seats to hear the story. In retrospect, I\u2019m appreciative of the opportunity. It did more than just impart a priceless lesson to Richard; it strengthened my bond with Tom. He supported me the entire time, demonstrating that our relationship could withstand any adversity. Thus, keep this in mind if you ever have to deal with a challenging family member who disregards your limits: karma may be lurking in the shadows, just waiting to strike.\n
MY FATHER-IN-LAW DESTROYED MY GARDEN FOR HIS POOL \u2013 KARMA GOT HIM GOOD! My FIL Got Rid of My Beloved Flower Garden & Dug a Pool for Himself without Permission \u2013 But Karma Hit Him Back Harshly I was furious when my father-in-law Richard destroyed my prized garden to make room for his unapproved swimming\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":83520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[855],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-83517","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-story"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/127.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inovatestory.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}