My neighbor, Irene, called the HOA on me because of the plastic skeletons and cobwebs I hung up for Halloween. Just a day later, she knocked on my door, asking for my help. What made her change her mind so quickly? You’ll find out soon!
I’m Wendy, a retired teacher and grandma, and it seems like I’m the most disliked person in the neighborhood.
“Wendy! What are you doing?” Irene shouted, with her hands on her hips, when she saw me putting up decorations.
“It’s Halloween, Irene! Same as I’ve done for 30 years.”
“But it’s so… GARISH!” she exclaimed.
I chuckled. “It’s supposed to be a little garish.”
7 days later, I received an HOA letter about my decorations. Guess who complained? I called the HOA, and they said I had to remove my decor in 48 hours or face a fine. Not happening!
The next day, I spotted Irene’s grandson, Willie, dashing around with one of my pumpkins perched on his head, calling himself the Headless Horseman.
“Get that off your head!” Irene yelled. But Willie argued, “Miss Wendy’s yard is the best!”
After a while, Irene came over to me, looking a bit shy and uncertain. “Wendy, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have said anything negative.”
I paid attention as she shared how much her grandson enjoyed my decorations, especially when things were tough for their family.
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“Can you help me decorate my yard?” she asked, hope in her eyes.
The next day, we got together with Willie and my grandson Carl to make Irene’s yard look amazing. We carved pumpkins and hung up spooky cobwebs.
While we were busy, Irene shared her feelings of loneliness and her worries about changes in her life. I told her that life is too short to stress about how things look on the outside.
On Halloween, Irene expressed her gratitude for everything we had done. I said, “This could be the beginning of a wonderful tradition,” feeling happy about the new friendships we were building.
As we went inside to enjoy some pie, I suggested we start planning our Christmas decorations.
“Let’s bring some real holiday cheer to this neighborhood!” Irene laughed.
Willie jumped in with ideas about real reindeer and a giant Santa.
Who knew a few decorations could lead to such joy? Life’s too short not to enjoy some spooky fun! Happy Halloween!
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