Bringing down the neighborhood less every day

I'd felt bad about the cheap-o, pre-fab gate that I'd bought since February, when it started to warp and fall down, not just because it looked bad, and exposed my yard to the alley, and wouldn't open and close (I could step through the opening but getting my car in and out wasn't an option), but because it was bringing down the neighborhood. For sure, it was better than nothing, and it sufficed until I'd come up with the money to have a more substantial fence put up.

I've seen more of both my next-door neighbors in the last week than I have in months, since we've all been out shoveling, and both have complimented me on the new fence. I responded wearily--I wasn't sure how much of that was a 'thanks for no longer bringing down the neighborhood as much'--but neither of them meant it passive-aggressively. They seem to sympathize, understand that this stuff takes time. It makes me really happy that my neighbors are nice and non-judgmental. I mean, I don't plan to take advantage of that by buying a bunch of totaled cards to store in my front yard, but I'm not going to turn into master landscaper overnight, and my front yard is not pretty right now. I operate in baby steps, and I'm elated that my neighbors are tolerant in that respect.