In the absence of being able to run as much as I hope to again one day I have taken to cleaning out closets and prepping for Christmas!! So, I pulled out a huge box of already purchased Christmas surprises to be sure I don’t buy the exact same stuff again and I found a brand new box of crayons and a first coloring book for my little granddaughter, Gracey who turns two in November. I know it’s completely silly…but that brand new box of crayons brought tears to my eyes. For years, I made sure that my kids always received new art supplies every Christmas – whether they wanted them or not. And to this day because I believe my son is truly a gifted artist I want to give him new crayons and drawing pencils and art paper every single Christmas – and he is 32 years old.
I opened that lovely box of crayons – so bright and beautiful – and simply indulged in their vibrant colors. Every color was one that a two year old would be proud and brave to hold in their chubby little hand. And it occurred to me how easily, how willingly we ignore the best colors in the box. Or I do. I gravitate toward the blacks and the whites – not real colors at all – with an occasional brown thrown in for good measure but I completely miss the shocking pinks and splashy oranges and the soothing blues and greens.
And then, in an ever so sneaky way, I buy into a belief that my life is – oh, I don’t know – kinda grey, kinda cream, kinda dulled.
I want my True Color back.
So, I found that feisty Cindy Lauper 
song, True Colors, on the internet and turned up the volume and colored all over notebooks and journals. I might just paint my walls a fabulous red!
I love Cindy’s words…
“But I see your true colors
Shining through
I see your true colors
And that’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colors,
True colors, are beautiful,
Like a rainbow.”
Amen to that……Color on……
Youngest Daughter
October 22, 2010
great post… life is not black and white or even grey as we like to philosophically say. life is colorful and creative and different and beautiful all together. and now i’ll have that song in my head all day
Ruth Bresson
October 22, 2010
Thanks, Anna….not a bad tune to carry around…..
Susan Disher
October 25, 2010
Reminded me of a smile that I captured in my memory last Friday while dressing for a visit with my mother, sister, and niece…found myself drawn to the blacks, browns, and creams…those being the “official” colors of my maternal family…the ones that we seem to gravitate towards and sure enough all four of us had on black or brown…now I certainly have brighter colors in my closet as does Miss Maggie (whose best hue is a hot pink!) and sweet Lindsey, but I was saddened to realize that I can’t remember seeing my sister in any color that even hints on being “bright”….navy and brown are her favorites. I never think of her as being a dull or even a negative person…not even a glass half empty person but maybe a “saddened” person…not one to dwell on the bumps and bruises of her life at all, but carries a aura of sadness…almost like she would never choose the hot pink or bright blue in the crayon box because she doesn’t deserve it…
Peanuts cartoon for today….
one of the little boys (not Charlie Brown but another I can’t identify) is talking to Lucy…”We used crayons in school today. We learned all about colors.”
Lucy: “Like what?”
“Like the fat kid next to me takes all the good colors”
Maybe that is how my sister feels…”the fat kid takes all the best colors”….
Write on my sweet friend!