Petty Stuff

There are 30 homes on my sleepy street and each Halloween, we share a lil Boo.  Bags of goodies are left on the doorstep with instructions to share with others.  Paper ghosts mark the homes already ‘Boo-ed’.  Only a few short years ago, (I’m embarrassed to admit) I’d carry much pride in initiating the Boo-trend here on Tree Hollow but would carry instant angst if someone else began their own circuit…marked clearly by a different ghost.  I remember that gut kick, knee jerk, icky-ugly reaction of gall like it was last Halloween. Utterly disgusted that someone else would compete…

This week, I drove past a neighbor home this week and saw the familiar Boo ghost posted and had such JOY…I remember the kids shrieking when the doorbell rang and discovered the mystery basket dropped at our doorstep. Sweet little things. What was missing this time was the angst…no longer caring if I was the ground-breaker or not. Feeling instantly silly for ever caring. What changed?  Am I filled with more joy? Has my focus shifted to bigger and better things?  Embarrassed that I ever cared that much for something so very insignificant, I pondered, what else no longer carries angst? What other petty stuff no longer concerns me? Then, what petty stuff am I currently carrying that will seem silly in 5, 10, 15 years?  An inventory seems in order…or at least a fresh awareness of that instant gut kick, knee jerk, icky-ugly reaction that rears its head from seemingly no where at all.

What other petty stuff troubles me?

And how quickly can I purge….because JOY feels so much better.