I love this house.
It makes me smile just to drive by it. The other night, as I drove by and smiled at this sight on
the way to the grocery store, I started to think about why I loved this house
so much.
1.
The people who live here totally get JOY and
CELEBRATION. Celebration is oozing
out of this house! The inhabitants have clearly dedicated time and energy to
this display—and they held nothing back.
This house and its lights scream out excitement—about what’s already
here and anticipation for what’s to come.
2.
Not only is this display all about joy and
celebration, it’s about SHARING that.
How many of us hide our passions and happiness because we fear judgment
or disapproval? Growing up as a
geeky kid, I know that experience—and sometimes that little voice that tells me
to keep something to myself still whispers in my ear—but these people? If they hear that voice, they are not
listening. I totally respect that.
3.
This celebration is RANDOM and ECLECTIC. These decorations didn’t come in a
matched set with perfectly coordinated colors and pieces. This is a collection of things that
looks to me like it has been built over time and by adding whatever caught
someone’s attention. I almost
imagine a whole family, each member choosing their own favorite set of lights
or object, and adding it to the scene.
These decorations demonstrate an attitude of finding beauty in anything—perfection and matching not
required.
4.
This house STANDS ON ITS OWN. I have seen houses a bit like this in
clusters before—streets where homeowners coordinate and sometimes compete with
each other over their decorations.
Although some of those displays might rival this one in terms of
magnitude, they lose something by being together for me. These homeowners aren’t afraid to stick
out. They are reveling in their
uniqueness.
Imagine living like that—expressing your joy and not caring
what other people think. It would be
liberating. It would be a
celebration. It would be as
beautiful and complex as this house.
I know that house! The thing I most appreciate about it is that it doesn't look overdone in spite of itself. Even though there are thousands of lights, plus ornaments and all the rest, it doesn't look like it was done just to be "the-house-with-all-the-lights". Not to say I don't call it "the-house-with-all-the-lights" around here but to me it feels like it came about more naturally.
ReplyDeleteI've seen houses similar but with dozens of Santas and snowmen and herds of reindeer. To me they seem like elements were added just to have more, whereas this house says, "We like Christmas lights, so we got a lot of them!"
It reminds me of the odd advice one of my coworkers would often tell me- you have to let your freak flag fly. As hard as it can be I think that makes sense. Sometimes you have to let the true you out to play otherwise we all end up looking, sounding and eventually *thinking* the same. Who wants that?