NEIGHBOR ASKED MY DAUGHTER TO BABYSIT FOR A WEEK, THEN REFUSED TO PAY — I WAS FURIOUS & TAUGHT HER A LESSON OF MY OWN
When my 15-year-old daughter Lucy walked in that Friday evening, eyes red and shoulders slumped, I knew something was seriously wrong.
She’d just finished a full week babysitting for our neighbor, Mrs. Carpenter—an older woman who always smiled too tightly and insisted on “good values.” Lucy had been promised $11 an hour.
I gently asked, “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
Tears welled up again. “She didn’t pay me,” Lucy said, voice trembling.
“She told me I should’ve gotten something in writing… and slammed the door.”
My jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“She said it was a ‘life lesson.’ That babysitting all week was good enough experience, and that I should learn not to take people at their word.”
My blood boiled. Lucy had worked 4 hours a day for 5 days. That’s $220. For a teenager who’d been juggling school and responsibilities, it was a big deal. And this woman just decided to teach her a ‘lesson’?
I took out $220 from my wallet and gave it to Lucy. “Here. You earned this. I’m proud of you.”
She blinked at me, shocked, then hugged me tight. But I wasn’t done.
The next morning, I walked to Mrs. Carpenter’s house. With a calm smile and a clipboard in hand, I knocked on her door.
She opened it, frown already forming. “Can I help you?”
“Oh yes,” I said sweetly. “You hired my daughter for a service. She fulfilled every hour. Since you believe in ‘life lessons,’ let me give you one of my own.”
I handed her a printed invoice, complete with dates, hours worked, hourly rate, and total. At the bottom, it stated “Payment due immediately.”
She scoffed. “Are you serious?”
“Dead serious,” I said. “This is called a formal record. You said she needed one? Well now you have one too. If I don’t receive payment in 7 days, I’ll be filing a small claims case and sharing this story in the community Facebook group.”
She paled. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” I said.
Two days later, Lucy found an envelope taped to our door. Inside: $220 in cash and a sticky note that simply read, “Consider the lesson learned.”
Yes, Mrs. Carpenter, we all learned something — especially you. 😏💰
