For My Son’s 12th Birthday, I Hung Tiny American Flags Around Our Lake House and Baked His Favorite Sheet Cake — He Walked In With a Fresh Bruise Under His Eye, My Nephew Smirked “I Just Taught Him a Lesson,” and When My Boy Looked Straight at My Sister and Asked, “Why Did You Let Him?” I Realized This Wasn’t a Party, It Was Evidence Theo’s twelfth birthday was supposed to be easy. Red, white, and blue bunting on the deck. Little flag toothpicks stuck into pigs-in-a-blanket like a tiny Fourth of

I let my sister-in-law use my pool every summer for her kids’ parties. When I asked to borrow her tent for camping, she sneered: “Get your own stuff—you’re so pathetic.” My mother-in-law chuckled: “You shouldn’t expect too much if you’re always asking.” My husband added: “Stop being such a freeloader.” I came back from my trip to find my pool drained and damaged. Her note read: “Pool parties are over—maybe this will teach you not to rely on others.” I stayed silent, but what I did next left them