Colors

I always laugh at the questions asked for various computer or password security control.  What was the name of your first pet?  (can't remember)  Where did you vacation last year?  (most years I don't really take a real vacation in the traditional sense of the word) What was the name of your favorite teacher?  (I had more than one)  What is your favorite color? 

My favorite color when I was growing up was blue and my sister's was purple.  So, I always thought I was not permitted to have purple as my favorite color, but I adored lavender.  And since I was this very serious, studious person practicing law, showing up in courtrooms, I couldn't have pink as my favorite color, even though I really, really loved it.  And for those same reasons, I certainly couldn't show up with red fingernails, even though I secretly really wanted to have red fingernails!

Well, someplace along the way I spent some time talking with some very helpful, nice people that wondered why I thought my sister owned the color purple.  They also pointed out there were no rules about female lawyers and the color pink.  And gradually, I got a little more comfortable in my own skin -- and with my own fingernails -- that I permitted myself to even paint them red.  (I still wore skirts in the courtroom though.)

I also opened my eyes to the world around me and saw there were other colors.  Yes, I still loved blue, and I started noticing all the many different, gorgeous shades of it.  But I also started to see the hues of the sunset, and all the greens in the forest, and the reds and browns in the canyons.  I literally had a revelation and a whole new appreciation of my total environment.  Tunnel vision of the world wastes so much beauty.

I must admit, though, that I'm still not too keen on yellow and orange.  Limited quanities I can handle, and the lighter shades are fine.  And I'm working to incorporate them, especially when paired with my favorites.  They are okay as accent colors, like black and white with yellow used as the accent.  Maybe that's one of the lessons in life -- sort of like recognizing our weaknesses, being aware of them and working on them.

Anyway, so I wore this red jersey to the football game today.  I told my grandson to be sure and watch for me on TV -- that I would wave to him and he could see me because I would be the one in the red jersey.  Of course I knew there would be probably about 30,000 other people there in red jerseys (and a like number in blue jerseys and a few more in white).  He kept looking all day for me, and finally decided he saw me on the field in the game -- playing, of course. 

You gotta love a kid who thinks his grandmother can play professional football because she wears the red jersey!  All because of the power of red.  Maybe Mrs. Marshall was right. 

And maybe I have a favorite teacher after all, I just never realized it.