I love being a dad.

There are certain times when it’s not all that pleasant but overall, it’s made my life so much more worthwhile.

However, there are times when you just have to let your kids figure out things on their own. That is where I am with my oldest son right now. He’s a great kid and trying to spread his wings a bit. Recently, he has been wanting to make some extra money by doing yard work for us and some other neighbors. This has led to a face off with the HOA over our HVAC. In an effort to help him learn, I suggested that he trim our hedges first to figure it out. I showed him how to set up the strings to keep it level and all that. However, given that it was his first time with hedge trimmers, there was a lot of evening up to do. This resulted in the hedge getting lowered considerably more than normal. And apparently, the HOA has taken note of this result as well. I received a letter in the mail officially warning me that my HVAC could now be viewed from the street. This is in direct conflict with a rule of theirs stating that HVAC cabinets are hidden from view. While a bit frivolous, I responded to the letter explaining that it was a one time thing and that the hedge would grow back soon. I figured that would be it. But, I was quite mistaken. The HOA instead decided that they would take it up a notch and begin fining me daily for this HVAC rule breach. I can’t believe that I am going to have to turn something this trivial over to my lawyer.

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