Yet, beneath the tension, a fragile friendship blossomed. The boy no longer fled from the water but stood his ground, and their exchanges grew from silent standoffs to small talk, revealing layers of understanding and companionship neither had anticipated. In this strange ritual, two worlds collided, transforming bitterness into a shared moment of humanity.
I (37M) live with my wife (37F) and son and daughter ( 9 and 11 respectively).
Recently, there has been this kid who comes by our house after playing soccer and either rides his bike or walks over the lawn with his cleats on his way home.
It started out as me giving him stern looks whenever I saw him, then it slowly progressed to me asking him to just go around. The last time I asked him to stop he made a point to stomp extra hard and twist his feet in to the grass to piss me off.
Since then Ive just been hosing him. The first time I sprayed him with the hose he ran off, but then for some reason he just started standing there while I hose him like he enjoys it.
Its now progressed to me sitting on my lawn chair pointing my hose at him, and him just staring at me while he does so. Sometimes we even make small talk.
Im ngl, it started off as a really bitter relationship, but Ive actually gotten to know the kid quite well, we talk for maybe 15-20 mins everyday, and he doesnt seem to mind being hosed down after sweating hard playing soccer.
He comes by daily and we just shoot the shit while I hose him and he stands there for a bit. Wife told me I need to stop, even after I explained it to her she said Im making us look like childish idiots.
I guess I could stop, but honestly its really funny waiting for him to come by and I see no harm in it. WIBTA?
Conclusion
The original poster (OP) has engaged in a recurring, non-standard interaction with a neighborhood child involving the use of a garden hose, which has evolved from an act of territorial defense into a daily, albeit odd, social ritual. The central conflict lies between the OP’s enjoyment and perceived harmlessness of this unique routine and his wife’s strong disapproval that it makes the family appear childish and foolish.
Given the shift from conflict to a bizarre, shared activity, is the OP’s continuation of hosing the child daily justifiable due to mutual enjoyment, or does the wife’s legitimate concern about appropriate parental behavior and public perception outweigh the OP’s personal entertainment value?
Here’s how people reacted:
He used to sit on the footpath at all hours and howl, setting off every nearby cat and dog.
I started spraying him with the garden hose to make him leave, but the damn thing seemed to like it. I swear he even started coming by more often just to get a hosing.
*OP – are you sure this is a kid, and not a large ginger cat??*
Soccer kid asked about bob:
“Oh yeah bob he’s cool, always there to chat with and give me a shower after a hard practice. closest thing I’ve ever had to a dad”
Kid is obviously deprived of attention and is weirdly getting something bizarrely meaningful from this incredibly strange relationship haha. Has he stopped trying to damage your lawn?
NTA