Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
1.5K
Mom Writes A Letter In Sidewalk Chalk To ‘Karen Neighbor’ Who Complained About Her Toddler’s Drawings And It’s Going Viral
I couldn’t imagine my childhood without sidewalk chalk. This is how my parents taught us, little kids, letters and numbers, and this was basically the only thing that would keep us interested. It had unlimited play potential so you could doodle, play with friends, create art and unleash your imagination. The best part, you didn’t need to worry about leaving a mess!
But it turns out not everyone is as excited about chalk drawings. In fact, one co-op neighbor got so annoyed about this mom and her toddler using sidewalk chalk in the courtyard that she complained to the board.
While you may wonder what precisely got her so upset (was it too much of a green color, not enough precision?), the mom Ashley Woodfolk shared a smashing response letter she wrote… in sidewalk chalk.
“So I wrote her a little letter. In sidewalk chalk. In the courtyard,” Ashley tweeted yesterday and her post went viral, amassing 237.6K likes and counting.
So let’s see what she had to tell her neighbor below, and be sure to share your thoughts on the incident in the comments!
RELATED:
After hearing her neighbor complained to the co-op board about her toddler using sidewalk chalk, mom Ashley penned a clever letter
Image credits: AshWrites
For anyone living outside the Big Apple, the co-op may sound new. Basically, when you buy a co-op, you don’t actually buy your apartment; instead, you are buying shares in a corporation that is your building. The size of your share depends on the size of your apartment; buying the shares allows you to occupy a unit in the co-op building.
The thoughtful letter Ashley wrote was done in chalk in the courtyard, where chalk drawings frustrated her neighbor
Image credits: AshWrites
Co-ops are basically the homeowner’s associations (HOA) of urban environments, where an organization in a condominium makes and enforces rules for the properties and residents. Moreover, every co-op has a board. The board is a group of members that has been elected to make decisions for the co-op on behalf of all the other members.
It turned out that the board of Ashley’s co-op was “super apologetic and on her side” in regards to the incident. However, the woman added in her tweet that she doesn’t want to make their lives harder. “I wish my pettiness could only affect her but the trickle effect isn’t worth it,” she said referring to the neighbor.
Here is the full letter Ashley wrote as shared on her Twitter account
Image credits: AshWrites
From the witty and graceful style of the chalk letter, you can suspect Ashley is no stranger to writing. In fact, Ashley Woodfolk is a full-time mom and writer, who, according to her website, lives in a Brooklyn apartment with “her cute husband, her cuter dog, and the cutest baby in the world.”
Her books include The Beauty That Remains, When You Were Everything, Blackout and the Flyy Girls Series, so you may want to check them out!
People have shared some opinions about the board, wondering how they accepted the complaint, but Ashley said she doesn’t blame them
Image credits: AshWrites
Image credits: AshWrites
Others showed their support for Ashley, giving her kudos for a great response in such an ‘infuriating’ situation
Image credits: Bridginne
Image credits: KoKabegami
Image credits: BigRedDukes7
Image credits: pwmartinson
Image credits: ShakeHandsBNice
Image credits: soltweetstuff
Image credits: pattidigh
Image credits: LoraBA83
Image credits: RuthLoisDev
Image credits: DCSUYD
Image credits: thatpackergirl
Image credits: AttkRunRepeat
Image credits: ChristeeDoubleE
Image credits: Oceanswam
Image credits: IdahoLark
Image credits: LadyOfCygnets
Image credits: Starbourne7
Image credits: wes_rose
What do you think ?
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
With the world on fire, people dying because a large number of d!ckheads are keeping a pandemic going and racism, sexism and fascism getting worse by the day, sidewalk-chalk seems to be the biggest problem.
Trillian 4 years ago
That was such a gracious response. I would have felt the need to practice some letters of my own instead. B I T C and H come to mind.
Gabby M 4 years ago
I so hope her neighbors supported her. I would have bought 100 chalk buckets and left them all over. After all it was just her the board addressed. Crap like this brings out the petty in me.
Load More Replies...
Demi Zwaan 4 years ago
I strongly dislike chalk on the sidewalks, because it's usually just an ugly, colorful mess, but I would NEVER say anything about it. They are kids, they need to play, draw, be creative, and chalk washes away with the first bit of rain! Why complain? I'll just walk by, dislike it for the few seconds I see it and move on with my life.
Otter 4 years ago
Chalk is easy to ignore! The fact is, visual nuisances are comparatively easy to ignore, you can look away from them. But odor nuisances like cig smoke are much harder to ignore, because nobody can stop breaking to avoid inhaling the smell, same for noise pollution. Nobody can stop hearing.
Load More Replies...
Lovin' Life 4 years ago (edited)
Seeing a child with chalk makes me so happy. I find it so satisfying that not all parents use the insta- babysitters such as phone, PCs, and other sorts of technology. She in interacting with her child with chalk. It's safe, harmless and just good fun. My driveway is constantly covered with artwork that my grandson (3) and I draw. It brings life to an otherwise lifeless palate. This "Karen" must be a miserable soul to take such an innocent child's play away from them. This mother was much more gracious than I would have been. I aspire to be more like this mother when wronged by others. This makes me angry and sad all at the same time.
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago (edited)
I've had great times for years chalking all over the paths round my house with my kid(now 11) ^-^ it really is fun (I enjoy it too lol reminds me of when I was a kid). He even once did a special picture for me by covering the washing line pole all round with grass, sky, and a picture of me and him holding hands. I have photos of it close up, and him standing proudly beside it, I will always treasure that even though the rain washed it away ❤
Load More Replies...
Darko Pešić 4 years ago
The people in my neighbourhood got together and got paint and draw on the street (it is a closed street, they are at the end of it, so no trafic, no cars) some tic tac toe games, and some other games that you can play on the street for the kids an left empty spaces for them to draw. Whenever i go thry that street (walking, there is a little passage that you can use as a shortcut) i try to avoid the drawings with chalk so i dont ruin the childrens art :D It is a harmless fun, i really dont see why would it bother something. How much hate and spite you must have to be that person
deanna woods 4 years ago
On my deliveries, I sometimes see chalk drawings and I think that they are so cute. It's really sad that with everything that is going on in this world right now that someone is having a tantrum about sidewalk chalk. I live in an apartment complex that is mostly adults, but if some of the kids drew o the sidewalk with chalk, it would not bother me in the slightest. I would be happy that they are having fun without having to be on some sort of device. If I were on the board, I would tell her that we are not doing anything about it and that she was no longer allowed to complain. I would tell her that if this made her that unhappy then she should move.
Xan A. Du 4 years ago
I'm just sooo tired of the use of "Karen". Can't we go back to more fitting words?
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
With the world on fire, people dying because a large number of d!ckheads are keeping a pandemic going and racism, sexism and fascism getting worse by the day, sidewalk-chalk seems to be the biggest problem.
Trillian 4 years ago
That was such a gracious response. I would have felt the need to practice some letters of my own instead. B I T C and H come to mind.
Gabby M 4 years ago
I so hope her neighbors supported her. I would have bought 100 chalk buckets and left them all over. After all it was just her the board addressed. Crap like this brings out the petty in me.
Load More Replies... Demi Zwaan 4 years ago
I strongly dislike chalk on the sidewalks, because it's usually just an ugly, colorful mess, but I would NEVER say anything about it. They are kids, they need to play, draw, be creative, and chalk washes away with the first bit of rain! Why complain? I'll just walk by, dislike it for the few seconds I see it and move on with my life.
Otter 4 years ago
Chalk is easy to ignore! The fact is, visual nuisances are comparatively easy to ignore, you can look away from them. But odor nuisances like cig smoke are much harder to ignore, because nobody can stop breaking to avoid inhaling the smell, same for noise pollution. Nobody can stop hearing.
Load More Replies... Lovin' Life 4 years ago (edited)
Seeing a child with chalk makes me so happy. I find it so satisfying that not all parents use the insta- babysitters such as phone, PCs, and other sorts of technology. She in interacting with her child with chalk. It's safe, harmless and just good fun. My driveway is constantly covered with artwork that my grandson (3) and I draw. It brings life to an otherwise lifeless palate. This "Karen" must be a miserable soul to take such an innocent child's play away from them. This mother was much more gracious than I would have been. I aspire to be more like this mother when wronged by others. This makes me angry and sad all at the same time.
Lauren Caswell 4 years ago (edited)
I've had great times for years chalking all over the paths round my house with my kid(now 11) ^-^ it really is fun (I enjoy it too lol reminds me of when I was a kid). He even once did a special picture for me by covering the washing line pole all round with grass, sky, and a picture of me and him holding hands. I have photos of it close up, and him standing proudly beside it, I will always treasure that even though the rain washed it away ❤
Load More Replies... Darko Pešić 4 years ago
The people in my neighbourhood got together and got paint and draw on the street (it is a closed street, they are at the end of it, so no trafic, no cars) some tic tac toe games, and some other games that you can play on the street for the kids an left empty spaces for them to draw. Whenever i go thry that street (walking, there is a little passage that you can use as a shortcut) i try to avoid the drawings with chalk so i dont ruin the childrens art :D It is a harmless fun, i really dont see why would it bother something. How much hate and spite you must have to be that person
deanna woods 4 years ago
On my deliveries, I sometimes see chalk drawings and I think that they are so cute. It's really sad that with everything that is going on in this world right now that someone is having a tantrum about sidewalk chalk. I live in an apartment complex that is mostly adults, but if some of the kids drew o the sidewalk with chalk, it would not bother me in the slightest. I would be happy that they are having fun without having to be on some sort of device. If I were on the board, I would tell her that we are not doing anything about it and that she was no longer allowed to complain. I would tell her that if this made her that unhappy then she should move.
Xan A. Du 4 years ago
I'm just sooo tired of the use of "Karen". Can't we go back to more fitting words?
You May Like 46 People Who Had The Misfortune Of Crossing Paths With Entitled Karens Neighbors Ignore Woman's Pleas To Control Their Barking Dogs, Regret It When She Goes To Landlord Homeowner Turns To Petty Tactics To Keep Annoyingly Clueless Neighbor Off Their Property
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Ieva Pečiulytė
Monika Pašukonytė
Related on Bored Panda
208
84