When winter rolls in, most of us are just trying to survive the cold, the slush, and the dread of having to unbury our cars from the driveway.
For TikToker Kelley (@kelleyboofficial), the season didn’t just bring snow. It also brought on a headache from her neighbor, whom she really hoped would go into hibernation.
After her town was hit with a bunch of snow, Kelly did what any responsible adult would do. She bundled up in warm pajamas, jeans, a hat, gloves, and a coat before heading outside to shovel her deck, sidewalk, and a path to her car.
While she was outside shoveling, she heard the neighbor yell out. She ignored it because she didn’t know who the neighbor was talking to.
When she looked toward the neighbor’s house, she could see her wheelchair in the doorway. Kelley assumed that she must’ve been talking to someone else because she knew Kelley by name. But then, she heard the neighbor address her and ask her to shovel her walkway for $10.
Kelley replied that she could barely shovel her own driveway and wasn’t about to shovel anyone else’s. In fact, she had only managed to clear a path on either side of her car.
She admitted that she was out of shape and needed to help her parents shovel the snow at their place as well.
She had no energy left to give, especially not for a measly $10. She wondered why the neighbor’s adult son, who lived with her, didn’t take care of clearing the snow.
“So, I had hoped with winter being here, our interactions would be much, much less,” said Kelley. “I don’t think it’s going to happen because apparently, she’s sitting by that door listening for me every single time I go out.”
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In the comments section, some TikTok users praised Kelley for maintaining her boundaries, while others chimed in with their own neighborly snow-shoveling stories.
“That’s tough, but it’s good to set a boundary because she sees you as a resource, especially if she’s likely listening for your comings and goings!” exclaimed one user.
“This is always a good opportunity for teenagers to make some money, but $10 is not enough. You made the right call. I’ll never forget a local story of a man shoveling his and a few neighbors’ driveways and dying that night,” commented another.
“I had an 85-year-old widowed neighbor. I would shovel my driveway, then hers. Every time I did it, she would call me and tell me about the ‘lovely girl who shoveled.’ Third storm she calls and says I should wait until the lovely girl shows up. Maybe she’ll do mine, too. I was killing myself, and she had no idea,” wrote a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
