{"id":20977,"date":"2026-09-27T02:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T02:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=20977"},"modified":"2026-09-27T02:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T02:06:30","slug":"my-neighbor-embarrassed-two-kids-over-a-few-apples-that-fell-into-our-yard-but-he-never-expected-how-my-husband-would-respond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/?p=20977","title":{"rendered":"My Neighbor Embarrassed Two Kids Over a Few Apples That Fell Into Our Yard \u2014 but He Never Expected How My Husband Would Respond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people say you should never ignore problems with neighbors.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Others say neighbor conflicts are the ones you should avoid most, because unlike friends, you don\u2019t get to choose who lives twelve feet away from you.<\/p>\n

Both are true.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

This story is about what happens when you try to balance those two truths.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also about an apple tree.<\/p>\n

And about the difference between being technically right and being decent.<\/p>\n

My husband Rob and I have lived in our house for twelve years.<\/p>\n

Dale lived next door before we arrived.<\/p>\n

He was the kind of neighbor who knew exactly where every property line was, which utility company owned which pole, and how water drained after a heavy storm.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t especially friendly.<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t openly hostile either.<\/p>\n

He kept his property neat.<\/p>\n

Stayed mostly to himself.<\/p>\n

Nodded when we passed.<\/p>\n

And for years, that was enough.<\/p>\n

Then there was the apple tree.<\/p>\n

The tree had been there long before either of us.<\/p>\n

It stood entirely on Dale\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

No argument there.<\/p>\n

But the branches didn\u2019t care about property lines.<\/p>\n

Nearly a third of the canopy stretched across our backyard.<\/p>\n

Every August, apples fell into our grass.<\/p>\n

Not five or ten.<\/p>\n

Buckets of them.<\/p>\n

They dropped beneath the swing set.<\/p>\n

Into the flower beds.<\/p>\n

Beside the shed.<\/p>\n

Across half the lawn.<\/p>\n

For nine years, Rob and I cleaned them up.<\/p>\n

One apple even rotted against the side of our shed long enough to leave a permanent stain in the paint.<\/p>\n

Dale never once offered to help.<\/p>\n

Never thanked us for clearing the fruit from our side.<\/p>\n

Never offered to split the harvest.<\/p>\n

We simply dealt with it.<\/p>\n

That was the background.<\/p>\n

Nine years of apples.<\/p>\n

Nine years of cleanup.<\/p>\n

Then one Sunday afternoon, my children went outside.<\/p>\n

Maya was six.<\/p>\n

Leo was nine.<\/p>\n

I was sitting on the deck drinking coffee when I noticed them carrying something across the yard.<\/p>\n

Then they came back.<\/p>\n

Then went again.<\/p>\n

After several trips, I realized what they were doing.<\/p>\n

They had found our big blue gardening bucket.<\/p>\n

And they were collecting the fallen apples.<\/p>\n

Nobody had asked them.<\/p>\n

They were simply cleaning up.<\/p>\n

But instead of taking the apples toward the house, they carried them toward the fence.<\/p>\n

Their reasoning was obvious.<\/p>\n

The tree belonged to Dale.<\/p>\n

The apples came from his tree.<\/p>\n

So the apples must belong to him.<\/p>\n

Simple childhood logic.<\/p>\n

Honestly, I was proud of them.<\/p>\n

Then Dale came outside.<\/p>\n

He reached the fence before they did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose belong to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leo stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of them. Every apple from my tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo looked down at the bucket.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they fell in our yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s my tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stood up from my chair.<\/p>\n

The children looked at each other.<\/p>\n

Then they obeyed.<\/p>\n

Because they had been raised to respect adults, even when the adult wasn\u2019t being particularly respectful in return.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/p>\n

They gathered every apple.<\/p>\n

Not just the ones already in the bucket.<\/p>\n

They went under the swing set.<\/p>\n

Into the flower bed.<\/p>\n

Along the fence.<\/p>\n

Maya was only six.<\/p>\n

She could carry about three apples at a time.<\/p>\n

She made four trips.<\/p>\n

Four.<\/p>\n

Each time, she glanced toward me on the deck.<\/p>\n

I finally called out,<\/p>\n

\u201cDale.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ignored me.<\/p>\n

He simply stood by the fence accepting each load and putting the apples into a bag.<\/p>\n

When the children finished, he tied the bag closed.<\/p>\n

Then he looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cNice,\u201d he said. \u201cTeaching them to steal early, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya immediately started crying.<\/p>\n

Leo didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

And somehow that hurt even more.<\/p>\n

He stood there with dirty hands and red ears, staring at the ground.<\/p>\n

I wanted to march straight to the fence.<\/p>\n

I wanted to tell Dale exactly what I thought about nine years of cleaning up fruit from his tree only to have him humiliate two children who were trying to help.<\/p>\n

Instead, I took two pictures.<\/p>\n

One of Maya wiping her face.<\/p>\n

One of Leo standing silently in the yard.<\/p>\n

Then I sent them to Rob.<\/p>\n

My message said:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe stood at the fence and made them return every apple from our yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob called less than a minute later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called our kids thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019m coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRob, if you walk over there furious, the entire street sees two adults screaming across a fence. Somehow we end up looking like part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.<\/p>\n

Then Rob said,<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a better idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I know how to teach him something without saying one rude word.\u201d<\/p>\n

I knew my husband well enough to recognize that tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSave the pictures. Email them to me. Then go be with the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I did.<\/p>\n

Inside, I made hot chocolate.<\/p>\n

Maya was still upset.<\/p>\n

Leo sat across from her at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n

Finally, he said,<\/p>\n

\u201cDale isn\u2019t very nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did we have to give him the apples?\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought carefully.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause technically, they came from his tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they were in our yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. And that\u2019s where things get complicated. Sometimes someone can point to a rule and claim they\u2019re right. But being technically right and being a good neighbor aren\u2019t always the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a good neighbor means thinking about what is fair for everyone, not only what you can claim for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo considered that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t being a good neighbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what are we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting for Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

An hour later, Rob came home.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t angry anymore.<\/p>\n

Or at least he wasn\u2019t showing it.<\/p>\n

Instead, he walked into the kitchen carrying a shopping bag.<\/p>\n

He pulled out gallon-size storage bags.<\/p>\n

Canning jars.<\/p>\n

And a huge bag of sugar.<\/p>\n

Leo stared at it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s all that for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApplesauce,\u201d Rob said.<\/p>\n

Then he added,<\/p>\n

\u201cApple butter too. Maybe cider if we have enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo looked confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have apples anymore. We gave them to Dale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gave him the apples that had already fallen,\u201d Rob explained.<\/p>\n

He pointed toward the backyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that tree isn\u2019t finished. I\u2019ve watched it for nine years. The biggest drop happens over the next couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore apples are coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe collect every apple that lands in our yard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about Dale?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe already taught us what kind of neighbor he wants to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob leaned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we get to decide what kind of family we want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next few days, the apples began falling heavily.<\/p>\n

One morning, the grass beneath the branches was covered.<\/p>\n

I grabbed the bucket.<\/p>\n

But this time, picking them up didn\u2019t feel frustrating.<\/p>\n

It felt purposeful.<\/p>\n

Every apple from our side went into the bucket.<\/p>\n

Then into a large cooler.<\/p>\n

When the kids came home from school, they joined me.<\/p>\n

Leo carefully searched beneath the swing set and through the flower beds.<\/p>\n

Maya carried apples toward the cooler.<\/p>\n

Four trips.<\/p>\n

Exactly like before.<\/p>\n

On her second trip, she smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour trips again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. It\u2019s more fun this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob\u2019s plan had three parts.<\/p>\n

Part one was obvious.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

We were going to use the apples.<\/p>\n

All of them.<\/p>\n

Applesauce.<\/p>\n

Apple butter.<\/p>\n

Dried apple slices.<\/p>\n

Maybe cider.<\/p>\n

Then he showed me part two.<\/p>\n

He opened his laptop to the website of a local food bank.<\/p>\n

He had already registered us for a community donation program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re giving everything away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is going to be a huge amount of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you think this is worth it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he showed me part three.<\/p>\n

A draft letter.<\/p>\n

Addressed to Dale.<\/p>\n

We spent the next two weekends turning apples into food.<\/p>\n

There is nothing glamorous about processing that many apples.<\/p>\n

Peeling.<\/p>\n

Coring.<\/p>\n

Cooking.<\/p>\n

Sterilizing jars.<\/p>\n

Checking seals.<\/p>\n

Watching temperatures.<\/p>\n

Cleaning the kitchen again and again.<\/p>\n

The entire house smelled like autumn.<\/p>\n

The kids helped wherever they safely could.<\/p>\n

Maya peeled.<\/p>\n

Slowly.<\/p>\n

Very slowly.<\/p>\n

But she was determined.<\/p>\n

Leo handled the repetitive jobs with the serious focus he brought to anything that had clear instructions.<\/p>\n

Rob cooked.<\/p>\n

I handled the canning.<\/p>\n

By the end of the second weekend, our table was covered.<\/p>\n

Seventy-eight jars of applesauce.<\/p>\n

Twenty-two jars of apple butter.<\/p>\n

Several pounds of dried apple slices.<\/p>\n

And three gallons of cider.<\/p>\n

Maya stared at everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of that came from the apples in our yard?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Rob said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we\u2019re giving it away?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo people who need food?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at the jars for a long moment.<\/p>\n

Then she said,<\/p>\n

\u201cDale didn\u2019t want us to have the apples.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Rob said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now lots of people get them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following Sunday, we loaded everything into the car and drove to the food bank.<\/p>\n

A coordinator named Helen met us at the loading area.<\/p>\n

She opened one of the boxes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you make all this yourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did,\u201d Rob said.<\/p>\n

She noticed the labels.<\/p>\n

Maya had made them from construction paper, each one decorated with little hand-drawn apples.<\/p>\n

Helen smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you make these?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya stood a little straighter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI peeled apples too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helen became very serious.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is real work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maya nodded solemnly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Helen asked where all the apples had come from.<\/p>\n

Maya glanced at us.<\/p>\n

Rob nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur neighbor\u2019s tree,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe branches hang over our yard, so the apples fall into our grass.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd your family turned them into all this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDad cooked most of it,\u201d Maya said immediately. \u201cBut I helped peel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Credit accuracy mattered greatly to her.<\/p>\n

That night, we finished the letter.<\/p>\n

Rob had rewritten it several times because he didn\u2019t want it to sound angry.<\/p>\n

He wanted it to sound clear.<\/p>\n

We told Dale exactly what had happened.<\/p>\n

That the children had collected apples from our yard and tried to return them.<\/p>\n

That he had made them gather every last one.<\/p>\n

That Maya had needed four trips.<\/p>\n

And that afterward, he had called them thieves.<\/p>\n

We told him Maya cried.<\/p>\n

We told him Leo didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Then we explained what happened afterward.<\/p>\n

More apples fell.<\/p>\n

We collected them.<\/p>\n

Processed them.<\/p>\n

And donated everything to the local food bank.<\/p>\n

Seventy-eight jars of applesauce.<\/p>\n

Twenty-two jars of apple butter.<\/p>\n

Dried apples.<\/p>\n

Cider.<\/p>\n

And labels made by the same children he had called thieves.<\/p>\n

Then we wrote the sentence Rob cared most about:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur children are not thieves. They are children who saw something that needed cleaning and tried to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t threaten him.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t insult him.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t tell other neighbors.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t post anything online.<\/p>\n

We simply told him what his actions had caused.<\/p>\n

And what we had chosen to do with them.<\/p>\n

Rob put the letter in Dale\u2019s mailbox on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Then we waited.<\/p>\n

Three days later, someone knocked on our door.<\/p>\n

It was Dale.<\/p>\n

He was holding a reusable grocery bag.<\/p>\n

Inside were apples.<\/p>\n

His apples.<\/p>\n

Not windfalls from our lawn.<\/p>\n

Good apples from his side of the tree.<\/p>\n

He looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids still like apples?\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do.\u201d<\/p>\n

He handed it to me.<\/p>\n

I took it.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t apologize.<\/p>\n

Not directly.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t mention calling them thieves.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t mention Maya crying.<\/p>\n

But he was standing at my front door.<\/p>\n

Holding apples.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard you donated everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked toward the backyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat tree produces too much. I haven\u2019t been able to use all of it for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something in the way he said it.<\/p>\n

Something quieter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to have help with it,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t ask what happened.<\/p>\n

Instead, I said,<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want, we can keep collecting the apples that fall on our side. We\u2019ll process what we can and donate it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d still do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re okay with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For several seconds, he said nothing.<\/p>\n

Then he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. All right.\u201d<\/p>\n

After he left, I called Rob.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brought apples.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I didn\u2019t think he would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that enough?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob thought about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he added,<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd something is more than what we had before.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was when I realized the most important part of Rob\u2019s plan wasn\u2019t really teaching Dale a lesson.<\/p>\n

It was teaching our children.<\/p>\n

Maya and Leo had watched everything.<\/p>\n

They saw what happened at the fence.<\/p>\n

They saw Maya cry.<\/p>\n

They saw us get angry.<\/p>\n

But they also watched us decide not to answer cruelty with more cruelty.<\/p>\n

They watched us spend two weekends working.<\/p>\n

They helped transform something unpleasant into food.<\/p>\n

They watched us deliver it to people who needed it.<\/p>\n

They saw Rob write a calm letter instead of starting a shouting match.<\/p>\n

One night, Leo asked him,<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you tell Dale everything we did?\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob answered,<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause sometimes when someone treats you badly, the strongest response is showing them very clearly what kind of person you choose to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter showed him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe letter told him. What we did showed him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo thought about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called us thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we gave everything away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we did the opposite of stealing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rob smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winter came.<\/p>\n

Dale didn\u2019t suddenly become a cheerful old man.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t start coming over for coffee.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t become affectionate.<\/p>\n

But something changed.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged us differently.<\/p>\n

There was less hostility in him.<\/p>\n

One afternoon, Leo saw Dale fixing a gutter.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

He asked if he needed help.<\/p>\n

Dale initially said no.<\/p>\n

Then changed his mind.<\/p>\n

Leo spent half an hour handing him tools from the ground.<\/p>\n

When he came inside afterward, he said,<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Dale is really mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

I raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think he is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a nine-year-old, it wasn\u2019t a bad assessment.<\/p>\n

The following August, the apples began falling again.<\/p>\n

Maya was seven now.<\/p>\n

Leo was ten.<\/p>\n

One Sunday afternoon, they went outside with the same blue bucket.<\/p>\n

They began picking up apples.<\/p>\n

Then Dale appeared at the fence.<\/p>\n

Both children stopped.<\/p>\n

For a second, nobody spoke.<\/p>\n

Then Dale asked,<\/p>\n

\u201cYou doing the applesauce again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we get enough,\u201d Leo answered.<\/p>\n

Dale nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a whole bushel over here I won\u2019t use.\u201d<\/p>\n

He disappeared for a moment.<\/p>\n

Then returned carrying a heavy bag.<\/p>\n

He lifted it across the fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want these too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo looked at Maya.<\/p>\n

Maya looked at Leo.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Leo said. \u201cWe\u2019ll use them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurplus,\u201d Dale muttered. \u201cCan\u2019t use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then he went inside.<\/p>\n

Maya stared at the bag.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave us apples.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we can make more food for the food bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can.\u201d<\/p>\n

She picked up the blue bucket.<\/p>\n

And made four trips.<\/p>\n

She always made four trips.<\/p>\n

That was simply how many trips her small arms needed.<\/p>\n

This time, nobody made her feel ashamed of it.<\/p>\n

I watched from the deck.<\/p>\n

And understood something else.<\/p>\n

Children are always watching.<\/p>\n

Even when we think they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

They are learning what adults do when someone embarrasses them.<\/p>\n

What anger looks like.<\/p>\n

What fairness looks like.<\/p>\n

What dignity looks like.<\/p>\n

Maya and Leo didn\u2019t learn their biggest lesson from the afternoon Dale called them thieves.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

They learned it from everything that followed.<\/p>\n

They learned that you don\u2019t have to become cruel because someone treated you cruelly.<\/p>\n

They learned that bad situations can sometimes be turned into something useful.<\/p>\n

They learned that a calm letter can accomplish more than yelling across a fence.<\/p>\n

They learned that making food for someone who needs it feels better than holding onto anger.<\/p>\n

They learned that people sometimes bring apples instead of apologies.<\/p>\n

And while that might not be everything you wanted, sometimes it is still worth accepting.<\/p>\n

The stain from that old rotten apple is still visible on our shed.<\/p>\n

We painted over it once.<\/p>\n

Eventually, it came through again.<\/p>\n

One day I overheard Leo explaining it to a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cA rotten apple damaged the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt stayed there too long,\u201d Leo said. \u201cIf someone had moved it sooner, it probably wouldn\u2019t have caused any damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was talking about an apple.<\/p>\n

But Rob and I looked at each other.<\/p>\n

Because he was also talking about other things.<\/p>\n

Some problems become worse when you leave them sitting too long.<\/p>\n

The apple tree is still there.<\/p>\n

It will probably outlive all of us.<\/p>\n

Its branches still cross the fence.<\/p>\n

Every August, apples still fall into both yards.<\/p>\n

Now Dale leaves his extra bag beside our cooler.<\/p>\n

We make applesauce.<\/p>\n

Maya still creates the labels.<\/p>\n

Last year, she drew the tree on every jar.<\/p>\n

Its branches stretched across both sides of a little fence.<\/p>\n

She showed me one.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

\u201cSee the fence?\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked closely.<\/p>\n

A thin line ran through the picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe apples don\u2019t care about the fence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. They don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we know it\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n

She thought for a second.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just decided to make food instead of fighting about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven years old.<\/p>\n

And somehow she understood everything.<\/p>\n

This year, the food bank received eighty-three jars.<\/p>\n

Maya says they were her best labels yet.<\/p>\n

Leo helped press the cider himself.<\/p>\n

And one Thursday morning, Dale\u2019s bag of extra apples appeared on our side of the fence.<\/p>\n

No note.<\/p>\n

He never leaves one.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t need to anymore.<\/p>\n

We understand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some people say you should never ignore problems with neighbors. Others say neighbor conflicts are the ones you should avoid most, because unlike friends, you don\u2019t get to choose who … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20977"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20978,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20977\/revisions\/20978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readingmydairy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}