All around the neighborhood, homes are lit up. Some rival the sun, as the amount of Christmas lights they’re drenched in helps cast shadows across yards when it’s otherwise dark outside.

One home in particular has the big, old-style opaque bulbs. White, red, green, orange and blue dutifully repeat, but then something catches my eye: it’s a stray bulb.

A hot pink bulb.

A hot pink, transparent, blinking bulb.

It’s a little jarring, but the blinking is terribly inconsistent so, for the most part, it just looks like it’s burned out. And then there’s that pop of pink.

A few of the original bulbs have clearly perished over the years, and while I’m appreciative of the efforts made to replace those that have, I am confused by the color choice, not to mention its dynamic nature.

As I passed by this house tonight, I scoffed, then figured that the hot pink bulb has a few characteristics that probably aren’t so bad after all.

Dynamic versus passive?

Stand out versus blend in?

Make people do a double-take and wonder why?

All good things. And I wouldn’t be surprised if my strands of plain white bulbs had a few blinking hot pink ones tossed in next year for good measure.

Tonight I am thankful for the delightfully quirky nature of the blinking hot pink transparent bulbs, and for their playful addition to the expected.