Let’s be honest—every neighborhood has its share of things we all notice but politely ignore. It’s part of the unwritten code of community life: see it, shake your head (internally), and move on.

Take the house with Christmas lights that stay up until July. At first, you think they just haven’t gotten around to it. By spring, you start wondering if this is a bold decorating choice. By midsummer, you realize it’s a lifestyle.

Or how about the lawn gnome army that seems to multiply overnight? One day, there are three. The next, there are twelve. Are they breeding? Is there a secret gnome supplier? Nobody asks, but everybody notices.

Then there’s the neighbor who mows the lawn in pajamas. Or the one who drags the trash cans out at 2 a.m., like a raccoon in human form. We see it all, but the polite thing is to look the other way.

And that’s the beauty of neighborhoods. They’re not perfect. They’re quirky, messy, and a little odd. Pretending not to notice is our way of keeping the peace—and maybe even appreciating the strange little details that make community life interesting.

Because someday, it’ll be you who forgets the Halloween spiderwebs until Thanksgiving. And when your neighbors pretend not to see it? That’s how you know you belong.