Christmas Quandary

I have a question about Christmas decorations (or Chanukah, or Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate).

Are you imagining my house during the holidays? Lots of pretty shiny lights? Duh. But just so you know, I prefer tiny white lights, not the rainbow colors, and especially not the tiny blue lights. I don’t like them because they remind me of mint – and I can’t stand mint.

Anyway, I feel overwhelmed with all that has happened over the past year – in fact, I would classify 2011 as tsunami-grade chaos. Not good for ADHD types. So in an effort to avoid any additional stress, I decided that this year our family would have a tree-free, decoration-free Christmas. I explained to both my son and my husband that I’m not lacking holiday spirit, but rather I am seeking a little peace to end the year. All seemed fine.

Let me clarify one other thing: I say “I decided” because during the season, I am solely responsible for conjuring up the holiday “spirit.” Seriously. I am a one-woman decoration shop.

I told several people about this – and I was really surprised at the reactions. Some people actually said that it wasn’t fair to my son – what would his friends say? No Christmas tree? (the horror!) What kind of mom doesn’t have a tree? And others were the opposite – well good for you! Christmas is so commercialized – I agree you should boycott! (Sheesh, I didn’t say we weren’t going to have a Christmas – chillax people!)

Honestly, I hold neither of those views. I just want some quiet, not-so-shiny time. But, I am curious about what you guys think. Either side – dish it out. And I’d love to know how you would tell your kid(s) that this year would be different – a little less shiny, if you had made the same choice.

That is all.

Adventures in Photography: Mt. Auburn Edition

I’m obsessed with iPhoneography – ohhhh the art and beauty that can be captured anytime, anywhere! If you know someone with ADHD, the iPhone is probably the worst invention ever. If you are ADHD, the iPhone is probably the BEST invention ever.

Wherever I go, I see photo opps, and I frequently stop to take pictures of anything I find interesting, which is just about everything. This has kind of ruined my social life since most people don’t like to stop every 50 yards to take multiple pictures of anything. I guess to them, it gets old fast. Confession: sometimes I agree to go out with people just because I want to take pictures. Heh heh.

I had a doctor’s appointment the other day, and when it was over, I decided that I was going to take my new iPhone 4s out for a spin. I was in Mt. Auburn, which isn’t really the best part of town, but it has renovated and ramshackle buildings – both of which make great subjects. I end up on Glencoe Avenue, kind of a bad street, but it’s filled with beautiful pink and blue row houses. I get totally sucked in, and continue wandering around other abandoned streets that I had no idea existed. I also know full-well that this uber-friendly suburban white girl probably shouldn’t be wandering around abandoned structures in Mt. Auburn. But working in social services for 10 years, I’m not too worried. I’d be more likely run into a few clients I know.

By the end of my walk, I’m feeling exhilarated, and listening to Broadway tunes on Pandora, singing to myself. (Okay, not really to myself. More out loud. Whatever.) I see this scary car coming up the hill that starts to slow down when the person driving notices me. Again, not really worried, but I can tell this guy is like – ummm, seriously? Do you know where you are? My train of thought went something like this: “This guy is probably wondering who I am, so I’ll let him know I’m snapping pictures. How can I do this without having to approach the car?” I flash my smile, I wave at him, I point up to a window with some cool graffiti on it, I turn back around, point to my phone, and proceed to give him the thumbs up sign. Yes, I did.

But of course, he gets it! He smiles and waves back, then drives on. In my mind, I am positive he thinks I am a really cool gal. In his mind, he was probably thinking, “That is one crazy bleeeeep bleeeeeeeep bleeeeeep! I'm just gonna smile, drive on and pretend I didn't see a thing.” 


True story. Though next time I am probably going to take someone with me. I don’t want to be a crazy bleeeep bleeeep all by myself.