Imagine living in a small coastal community where neighbors help each other and take pride in making sure their homes and lawns look nice. What would you do if a new neighbor kept her trash bins out longer than you think she should? Would you mind your own business or talk to her about it?

In this story, one woman is in this situation. She doesn’t want to be a Karen, but she really seems bothered by the new neighbor.

Let’s read all about it.

Am I Overreacting my New Neighbor Isn’t “Reading the Neighborhood”

I have a new neighbor that just moved in recently at the end of our street.

For perspective, it’s a small coastal community dotted with everything from natural shingled cottages, cottages that have been restored/renovated into larger homes to the “McMansions.”

Our street is a combination of the homes.

They live really close to the ocean.

We don’t live on a cul de sac per se but if you were to take a right about 50 ft you would end up in the Atlantic Ocean.

I would say there’s about 50 homes in all give or take, it’s a quiet little suburban neighborhood south of Boston.

We all keep our lawns tidy and help each other with shoveling in the winter etc .

So what I’m trying to get at is that whether we have kids, an elderly couple, young professionals etc everyone keeps the front of their homes presentable.

She met the new neighbor’s daughter.

Although I have never met the new neighbor, I have met her sweet little talkative daughter one night over the end of August, she and another little girl whom I know we’re having a little lemonade stand.

I had originally thought the new girl was a cousin or friend of the neighborhood girl but then she informed me that she had just moved in.

I was so happy and excited for her, she is the cutest little thing and reminded me of my daughter who is grown up now.

I had originally walked by the stand while out doing my nightly walk after work along the beach and I mentioned to the girls that although I didn’t have any cash on me at that exact moment that I just lived down the street and would be back with some money to purchase some lemonade.

She didn’t want to forget to go back.

One of the major rules of life is that you should ALWAYS buy lemonade from kids at a lemonade stand (no matter how gross the lemonade is or how dirty their little fingers are from all the stickiness).

I had gotten him just as the sun was setting and made a mental note not to forget to go back out to the lemonade stand before it got too late.

Of course I walk in the door and I immediately became engrossed in a conversation with my two teenage boys, one of which was leaving for college in a few days. We’re talking, laughing , joking when all of a sudden I jumped up and quite audibly said “darn!”

My boys go “what mom, what’s wrong?”

She wasn’t sure if the stand would even still be there.

I explain to them and they laugh and shake their heads like “mom being mom.”

I also laughed and shouted to them as I walking out the door just how important this was to those two little girls that I kept my word.

It was now pitch black out and I’m half walking , running, sweating, praying that they’re still out there while part of me was hoping they weren’t because it was getting late and it was clearly night time now.

I round the corner to my relief that the stand was still set up but with only one little girl sitting there, it was the new girl.

She felt really bad.

She stood up and smiles with clear delight as I approached her apologizing. I felt so unbelievably bad and asked her if she was out here waiting for me and she said “yes.”

I felt so so terrible about the whole thing but then my mind started to register what was happening.

What parent would ever let their kid sit outside in the dark at someone else’s house (her little friends house) to wait for an ADULT to come back with a dollar for a little lemonade stand?.

I asked her if her parents knew if she was out here and she replied “yes but I have to go in soon.”

The little girl had to go home.

Just as she was done speaking a yell came from her house down the street “Time to come In!” The woman’s voice called to her.

“Well I got to go in now.”

I said “ok sweetheart, I’ll see you around soon.”

And she said “ok.” And walked away down the street with her equipment.

Everyone went home.

I asked her if she needed any help and she replied “no, thank you.”

I said “ok” and walked back home.

The lemonade was good actually.

I’ve seen the little girl a couple of times since that and she is a polite cute little girl.

She’s annoyed about the new neighbor’s trash bins.

Our rubbish trucks come on Monday mornings so everyone in the neighborhood leaves their barrels out Sunday nights and brings them back in no later than Monday night when everyone is home from work etc.

The new girls house barrels have been out in the street all week long and tomorrow is Sunday.

I’ve never seen the mother still to this day.

Part of me wants to go up to the door and inform them of this because clearly nobody has yet. But I do feel like that would be very “Karenesque” of me but part of me wants to know wth that mother’s problem is . Am I overreacting?

Yes, I think that would be a very Karen thing to do. I don’t think the mother has a problem. She is living her life, minding her business, and OP should do the same.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

I completely agree with this comment.

Seriously, all that setup, and it’s not even about lemonade!

One person is honest.

Another person straight up calls OP Karen.

At least she realizes she has Karen tendencies.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a couple who are in hot water with their neighbors after borrowing their patio furniture without asking.