I hadn't heard the doorbell ring nor heard a knock, but that sixth-sense humans must have developed regarding their territory took hold and I went downstairs out of curiosity.

Surely enough, there was a lady, in her mid to late fifties standing on my porch. Our metal door was open and she was standing where I could see her in front of our screen door.  I got off the phone with my MIL and asked the lady who was pensive in her posture if I could help her.

Granted, I gave her a gracious hello - I am southern and she did not strike me as someone to be apprehensive of.  Indeed, she was timid - and she told me that earlier that day her husband had seen two girls hacking away at the trees by their home with a child's golf putter.  According to her this had done deathly damage to the trees.  

Instinctively I sought to have her relax - I am no enemy of my neighbors' - and I reassured her that I understood the courage it takes to walk unannounced to a fellow neighbor's house bearing accusations against a child.  We walked together toward her property and I asked her if her husband directly witnessed the choppers, and by the description and timeframe she gave me there was no other explanation for what had happened.

The trees' bark was chopped away in a manner that made the orange pulp seem to literally bleed from under the open sores of the cuts.  One tree looked like it had been skinned alive, like the bark had been peeled like a skin-sock from its trunk.  I stood aghast, in disbelief, and yes, in disgust that my stepdaughter hadn't had the better sense not to do something like this (she is 10 and normally very thoughtful and polite, even having been reared with a lenient hand).

The trees are eyesores to the community now, and the trees will surely die.  I apologized to my neighbor and told her that I was really shocked this had happened at all, but this did make sense of a nonsensical story my stepdaughter and her friend told me about how the putter had been broken (the head had snapped right off).  My neighbor thanked me for being understanding, really more so for not being a tyrant.  I told her I hoped we could rectify this situation in a way that would keep good relations between us as neighbors and she gave me a long, deep gaze that said she understood that I as a stepmother was not able to monitor everyone 100% of the time.  I told her we would be back ASAP with an apology.

I called my stepdaughter's friend's parents and told them what had happened and that I would be there in 15 minutes to come get her.  The parents seemed very disappointed about what had happened and assured me they wanted to be in on the apology.

Long story short, our daughters were very bereft, and today we all went with our daughters to issue our apologies.  We promised to help them clean the area and if we in any way could help restore the area, and albeit the gentleman neighbor was glad the girls made the effort to take this seriously, he made it clear the tree was bound to die and nothing could save it.  

Our families walked away from the house, my daughter's friend having teary eyes, when the lady neighbor drove around our counter with her car.  Reiterating that the tree was going to die, she thanked us for our genuine concern and thanked me particularly for not being...a tyrant.  Oh, what our world must have come to.

It is not that our children had the drive to "hatchet" a tree; I mean, I am from the South and have spent much time doing what must have been something somewhat destructive to our local environment by way of digging things up or bending branches playing Tarzan or something.  But we live in the city, and common sense, in my mind, would have dictated that the small, landscaped enclave obviously possessed by a family five houses down from us should be off-limits to our more devious desires.  Having said this, both girls have learned a valuable lesson about property, respect, and thinking before acting...I've tried to turn the cloud into a silver lining about learning to apologize and the liberation it can bring a guilty conscience.

Does anyone here have a similar story they would like to share about their children rectifying a wrong?  I am still new at this parenting thing and sometimes I need help plugging my gasket.  Either way, I am proud tonight of my daughter, and I am sure this has been a lesson she will not readily forget.