Really?

There have got to me more people like me out there, but I just don't get status symbols. I don't get the McMansion, I don't get the BMW/Audi/Lexus thing, I don't get the I-became-a-surgeon-because-of-the-prestige thing. I have, however, spent a lot of time around people who have spent their lives chasing these things and I have to wonder what it's all about. I mean, do they really care that much about what other people think? One word of advice: if the people in your life judge you based on how many palm trees surround your 'estate,' or on how many times you upgrade your vehicle, those aren't friends. Get rid of them promptly and find some new people that just want to hang out and enjoy some common interests.

I must just be selfish, because there is no way I'm throwing that much money down for someone else's viewing pleasure. There is also no way I'm spending my cash upgrading my kitchen every three years. My car is 9 years old and I love it. My home is 60 years old and I love it too. It is a place for me to veg on weekday nights, bundle up and watch movies on the weekends, and to sew in, and read in, and just enjoy myself and my family. I'm relieved that I don't belong to an HOA who limits my home paint choices to peach and light peach, and the sidewalks on my street are cracked with the roots of 100 year old trees and I love that kind of charm. I don't think that anyone is a 'loser' for not owning a home, or not having a car newer than 2007, or whatever.

Get over it, people! No one is watching you that closely but yourself! You don't live in Tuscany, so kill it on the "Tuscan" kitchens! Everyone's tastes are different, but when I see these people living this way just to show off to a bunch of other people who live that way too, I have to sigh. I mean, really.

/end of rant.