Gaudiness

I had an image in my mind of how I would decorate my home during the holidays when I was all grown up. My vision included understated Christmas lights with greenery. There might even be a red bow (or two). During the spring and summer, I would have flowers that celebrated the season (red, I think, I like red). I had all these visions, hopes, dreams, and aspirations. But, I moved to Maine, and those have been crushed.

First let me say, when I first moved to Maine I moved into a HORRIBLE apartment that had a smell. I can't describe the smell other than to say that it smelled dirty. No matter how much I cleaned, it still had a smell. It was awful. Horrible. Despicable. Embarrassing. Bad. I could not get out of there fast enough. Then in early December I was able to move into a perfect apartment. Clean. Cute. Safe. A good smell. I was so happy! The only problem, my vision of how to decorate my second floor deck facing a busy street in a tasteful way was dashed.

My down stairs neighbor, an lovely elderly woman whose family owns my building, likes to decorate. A lot. And I mean a lot. Her entire apartment changes with the seasons. Walking into her home between November and January was like walking into Santa's wet dream. You were over-whelmed with decorations. Gaudy decorations. Really, really gaudy decorations.

And the outside of the house, the space that we share, was worse. The amount of Christmas lights were enough to confuse any over-head plane. I didn't need lights on in my apartment at night because of the ethereal glow. I could find my apartment building from the moon, if I had a chance to go. There was no tasteful, under-stated decorations for me. Though, there were a lot of red bows.

When the lights and decorations finally came down I was happy. I could finally enjoy my home without having to wear sun glasses. But, much too soon, the Easter decorations arrived. The small tree outside in the front yard is bent over with the weight of hanging plastic eggs. There are fake spring flowers (with tags still attached) stuck into the flower boxes. There are rabbits in colors not found in nature taped to the front door and up the stair-well. In essence, there is never going to anything ever under-stated in my new home.

And the funny thing is, I have started to experience a sense of pride in my gaudy home. I feel...special...knowing that I live in the building that others smirk at when passing by. I like being able to describe my home as that house on the corner with the decorations. People know it, and that makes me happy.

Maybe someday I will get over my desire to be tasteful and understated. Maybe someday I will be in competition with my downstairs companion. Maybe someday I will begin decorating for the lesser known holidays. I understand that 'International Women's Day' is coming up. Perhaps I can decorate my home with bras, tampons, and shoulder pads. We'll see. It would definitely leave an impression on the truckers who drive by throughout the day and night.