We laughed it off—until the day Simon and Abby came home in tears. Melissa had shown up at the playground with a clipboard and told them they were banned for “playing too loudly.” Seeing my children heartbroken lit a fire in me.Instead of confronting Melissa directly, I decided to get creative. That night, I wrote a new set of fake rules—silly ones like “dogs must wear socks” and “birds can’t sing above 50 decibels.” I secretly delivered them to every house except Melissa’s. The next morning, the neighborhood was roaring with laughter, and Melissa’s self-importance started to crumble.
