An innocent gender reveal party swiftly descended into chaos. Luckily, my future mother-in-law was ready for the spectacle. When I discovered the rationale behind the last-minute dress requirement, I was taken aback and indignant.
Hello, my name is Tammy, and I’m thirty-one years old. Dean is thirty-two. This has to do with my fiancé’s family’s massive betrayal, which inspired me to pursue retribution.
For his first child, my future brother-in-law, Sam, planned a gender reveal party. Ignoring the warning signs, Dean and I accepted the invitation. It was strange that the invitation asked guests to bring presents, including medium diapers and something for the parents. We were told everyone had to wear white one week prior to the event. I bought a white jumpsuit with reluctance.
There was a nervous atmosphere at the celebration. Enthusiastically, Sam and Berta interacted with each other. Everyone was covered in pink and blue paint as it suddenly exploded in showers. The white clothing code, we discovered, was to sabotage our ensembles for their own entertainment.
The guests were furious, but Berta and Sam chuckled. Sam’s mother stepped in after noticing the shock. Instead of the destroyed garments, she gave them gift cards in an envelope. She was responding to the disrespect in this way.
His mother reprimanded Sam and Berta, teaching them a valuable lesson in decency and thoughtfulness. My soiled jumpsuit served as a visual reminder of how careless behavior can be as Dean and I departed, transforming a carefree celebration into a meaningful life lesson.
A 13-year-old builds his own mini-house in his backyard, look inside and be impressed
Most middle schoolers probably have other things on their minds besides building houses.
But Luke Thill, a 13-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, is unlike any other middle schooler you’ve seen before.
This talented and proactive boy has crafted his very own little house — in his parent’s backyard.
The project cost him roughly $1,500 USD — and now Luke is living his dream in his little cottage.
Come on in and have a look at what it looks like inside.
I think it’s safe to say that Luke is not like many of his 13-year-old peers. In a time of iPads, smartphones, gadgets, and X-Boxes, this young man decided to keep himself busy in a different and more ‘old-fashioned’ way. As he explains on his YouTube channel, his desire to build a small house grew out of feeling bored last summer.
After some thorough research, Luke had a pretty good idea of how he was going to put his plan into action.
The Process
It took him about a year to get the money and materials he needed to build the house. Luke mowed lawns, started a fund-raiser online, and ran errands for anyone who needed help in the neighborhood to make money.
An electrician Luke was friends with helped him install the electricity in exchange for Luke cleaning his garage out, for instance.
Luke used about 75 percent recycled material, many of which were things left over from his grandma’s house. The front door of the house was a gift from an uncle’s friend.
The 89-square-foot house is 10 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide, with electricity but no plumbing, so no water or bathroom… yet.
“I liked the minimalism,” he told The Des Moines Register. “And I wanted to have a house without a huge mortgage.”
Luke has made several video clips and posted them online, where he talks about his project as many have grown curious about the little house.
As you can imagine, Luke also received some help from his parents, both financially and with the building itself.
But dad Greg made sure that it would be Luke himself who would pay for most of his project and also build most of it himself.
“It was a chance for a kid to do something more than play video games or sports,” Greg told The Des Moines Register. “It teaches life lessons.”
Teenager’s Dream
The house is in many ways a teenager’s dream, an oasis where you can chill and hang out in. It has a microwave, a TV, and a loft with a bed.
There’s even a barbecue and flowers at the back.
Luke usually does his homework after school at his new house and some nights during the week he gets to sleep there.
Luke already has aspirations to build another house — one that’s a little bigger for when he starts college. He also hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams:
“I want to show kids it’s possible to build at this age,” he says in one of his videos.
You can really see how proud he is about his project below.
Luke’s story is a great example of what a child can achieve with a clear goal, a strong worth ethic, and support from home.
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