Street Envy: The Return

It's been at least six months since the SJG dealt with some serious street envy issues.  My dear friend/fellow dog walker Cheryl just wouldn't stop bragging about the pretty facelift her street received.  "It's as smooth as a baby's butt," she said, on more than one occasion.  "I'm happy for you," I lied.  "It must be nice to have a street that looks so youthful.  Use it in the best of health."  In public, I brought my YAY game.  I projected as much glee as I could muster.  Cheryl finally landed on Easy Street.  What kind of friend would crap all over her dream?  Not the SJG.  In private, it was another story.  A condensed version of my nightly rant:  "It's not fair that Cheryl's street got paved!  Our street is in worse shape!  I'm so envious, I could scream!  I can't even bring myself to go near her street now.  It's too painful." Eventually, I shut down my epic case of street envy.  I realized it was unhealthy to kvetch this much about blacktop, when there were far worthier things to kvetch about, like that state of the carpet in the hallway.  All that kvetching paid off.  The carpet?  It's gone, replaced by nice smooth bamboo, so pretty, so sustainable.  Fast forward to today.   My street envy is back, and it's worse than ever.  Why?  Because every eff'n street but ours is getting repaved!  For months, the city has been ripping up the roads, putting in new pipes, making neighborhood navigation impossible.  Have I complained?  You know me.  Of course!  But I thought there was a pop o' gold at the end of this journey.  I thought we were getting a nice smooth street.  But noooooooooooo!  We're not.  Our street is so messed up, so beyond repair, we're a special case.  We can't just be paved over.  We need complete renovation.  Who doesn't?  So once again, I have to reduce my envy, I have to downsize my resentment, I have to deal with this disappointment like a grownup person.  But I don't want to be a grownup.  I want to run back and forth across my street, I want to frolic and skip like a kiddy, without falling into an asphalt crater.  Ba-bye, SJG.  Nice knowing you.  Hmmph!  Too much to ask?  Apparently.  Good thing the High Holidays are coming up.  Maybe in temple, I can atone for this selfishness, this abject misery and move on.  Maybe.  When it comes to my street, I've lost my way.