Crayons

This morning I received an email ad from Behr with a coupon for money off on paint. I love the Behr site http://www.behr.com because they have a tool that lets you play around with colors, adding them to walls, trim, etc. You can select the type of room you want to "paint" and then just start experimenting. I love how colors, and playing with color, can affect my mood. Even if I'm not in the market for paint, I find myself taking the time to "paint" and look at different colors.

I think I have always been drawn to this visual playtime. I can remember loving crayons and coloring books as a child. And, as a parent, I think I got as much delight - if not more - in buying new crayons and coloring books for my kids. Even the smell of crayons makes me feel good. How great was it when you had a brand new box of Crayola - that big triple decker box. I would pull out each crayon, one at a time, look at it, try it out on a piece of paper, and then carefully slip it back into its place in the box. Then I would pull out the next crayon, and do the same thing. If I especially liked a particular color, I would hold off from using it so that it would keep its perfect pointed shape - no rub marks melting it down. When a crayon broke in half, I loved to peel the label off and just feel its cylindrical smoothness, put it to my nose and take an big wiff. Such a simple little piece of wax could entertain me for hours. When I got older, I tried using colored pencils - but they were never the same. They were too hard, and I could never get the colors to be rich and thick on a page.

Yep, crayons, coloring books, and Spring. For me, they are connected because the world goes from drab to beautiful. I think I'll treat myself to box of crayons and a coloring book today - if for no other reason then to just sit with a new box and smell the memories of my childhood...