There Goes The Neighborhood

Last night I raced into the house and yelled to Lucky, "That's it, We are moving!" "The neighbors are having a party complete with a chef and serving staff, how are we going to compete with that?" Lucky calmly informed me that he didn't realize we were having a competition. So to give you an idea, our neighborhood is described by realtors as, "The most coveted, award winning neighborhood known as First Addition." Then there are a select few who happen to live in said neighborhood but on a very different scale. We are THOSE neighbors. You know the ones... Who have a garden in the front yard, Who have the older home, Who do their own laundry and clean their own house, Who do their own yard maintenance, Who have chickens roaming about, Who have a dog hell bent on taking a dump on the neighbor's carefully manicured lawn, Who haul crap home from yard sales and call it "art", Who don't own the latest BMW Smart Car, Who grow potatoes on the side yard and call it landscaping. We have the house that other neighbors describe as "The eclectic hippie house." From the guy 3 doors down, "Hey, you live in the hippie house on the corner, right? The one with all the fresh herb in the yard?" Okay, that would be basil but if I didn't know better I would think he was looking to score a little bud for those after hour parties he keeps hosting. Now suddenly it sounds as if we are growing weed in our front yard. How did he know about my childhood? I digress... But here is what we DO have and I think it far outweighs the things we DON'T have... Small house payment, Less overhead, Less maintenance of 'things', Less debt, Less anxiety, More time, More contentment, More freedom and yes, less competition. Now that is something worth coveting, in my humble opinion. Although my spirits were buoyed when I noticed the neighbor using the same tablecloth at her party (stalker much?) that I have. I'm pretty sure she didn't buy it at Goodwill like I did.