There Goes the Neighborhood

I have to move. I have come to realize over the past few years that you must surround yourself with people who elevate you, who make you feel good about yourself, your accomplishments, and your potential. This doesn’t mean you should never be challenged by friends, co-workers, and acquaintances who may outshine you; but the distance between you cannot be akin to the miles between the sun and the moon.

But I’ll come to the point: Here is a picture of my neighbors’ Halloween decorations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And just in case you’re not properly impressed, here is what hung from the tree to the right of this family gathering:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now let’s look at my Halloween decoration (yep, that would be singular, not plural).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I can’t even take credit for the face. I bought it already cut out for only an additional $15.

Here is the thing—at first, I clapped my hands with glee when I saw said neighbor’s Wizard of Oz decor. I can appreciate fabulous creativity as well as the next person. But then people started driving onto my property to park and take pictures, and I started to get irritated. Friends commented on the difference between my Jack O’ Lantern and the neighbors’ production. Over and over again I came home, drove past their house, and felt the giant chasm between them and me. But in the end I let it go. I gave it up for their brilliance, deciding that Halloween must be their favorite holiday, and I can live with it for one month a year. I even stopped by to tell them how cool the entire thing was. Really, I did. And I meant it. Oprah has taught me nothing if not to be authentic.

Then a week or so ago, they were out there taking it all down. Wow, I thought as I drove away. They’ve been out there for hours. I had no idea it could take so long to dismantle such a thing as Dorothy and her band of brothers. (By the way, there should have been another girl in Dorothy’s band of Yellow Brick Road Travelers. Dorothy and three men? I will have to address that issue in a future blog.)

Anyway, I come home a few hours later to this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really?  Come on. Are you serious? Look at that friggin’ turkey for God’s sake? Who does this?

Then I started to get anxious about Christmas. Should I hire someone? Do I move? Will they do Valentine’s Day?

There are so very many things to get anxious about these days, and I’m not willing to allow keeping up with the Jones’s holiday decorations to become one of them. I should add, by the way, that they are the nicest couple ever. Really. The problem is me, not them.

Anyway, I’m moving. I’ve checked out the neighbors who live by the new house, and I think it’s a better fit. They have a decaying car in their yard.

Happy Thanksgiving.