Is it ADHD or Just Plain Weird?

My brother, Tom, nicknamed my husband Harry the "H-bomb". For those of you who know him well, it is a pretty darn accurate description! What I do know, is that his mind just doesn't work like most people. I think he has ADHD. I used to not believe in that diagnosis - it was too "hip" for me and seemed like a nice excuse for teachers who couldn't manage their classrooms - until my son Sam was born. Then, I fought against the diagnosis, but finally, I surrender to it. Sam, and Harry and probably my stepson Tom, all have ADHD in some variation.

With Harry, conversations segue from point A to C and others are still at B. His impulsivity could cause one to cringe, like when he butts into strangers conversations or offers diners at other tables in restaurant bites of his dinner, or wakes you from a sound sleep to ask if you are awake. Boundaries are a bit blurred. He can be intrusive. He can lack sensitivity to what is happening around him - like starting the boat engines at 4AM to see if they are running smoothly. Or hollering my name in public as though he were Marlin Brand calling "STELLA!" in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Oh well. Life is never, ever dull. While I sit there being all self contained, appropriate with all of my WASP boundaries, think how much I have missed! Without Harry and his ADHD, the last 25 years would have been a lot more peaceful, but I would have missed so much.