Changing Colors
Written by Wendi Kelly - September 2, 2008
37 Comments
At my desk in front of me is a never been used, fresh box of 64 different brilliant non-toxic Crayola Crayons with the built-in sharpener. I store them in my equally brilliant Crayola crayon box that has pictures of happy animated smiling crayons on the cover and a white rectangle name-tag space that says THIS BOX BELONGS TO: and I scrawled my name in permanent marker- Wendi.
That box of crayons is mine and I’m not sharing.
Oh…by the way…hidden in my closet where none of my kids can find it, I also have the eight Crayola color crayons that were retired in 1990 and are in the Collector’s Colors Limited Edition Collection. I’m not sharing them either.
This drives my kids crazy. (Well, my oldest two are used to me by now, but the youngest two have a ways to go) They are still of the belief that the minute you get a new box of crayons you should color with them until you have worn down all of the sharp uniform points and then run them through that tempting built-in sharpener ripping off the little bits of paper as you go until all of the crayons are short, naked, broken, discarded and none of the colors in the four cardboard boxes match up anymore or have any rhyme or reason to them and the box itself looks as if it has been flung on to a battlefield and lost.
Desecration of the crayon boxes happens all over the world. It is particularly rampant in September when less then reverent children get their new fresh crayon boxes to go back to school with all of their other school supplies. For one or two glorious giddy days, they fawn over their new prized possessions as if school supplies held the keys to all knowledge of mankind. Then, before the first homework assignments have been handed out, the shiny glow has worn off and the supplies, the markers, colored pencils and the forgotten crayons have been flung to the bottom of the desks and lockers to become part of the dreaded nightmare that is their education. It’s just all part of the stuff.
I was NOT that child.
The smell of a fresh box of crayons was and still is like the greasepaint for an actor on stage. The hope of 64 Crayola possibilities and the endless combinations and dreams that imagination could create was a fire ignited that raged with enthusiasm through out my entire being. It was the beginning of a spark that spread into a love of discovery and wonder and took in all that I learned to associate with school.
I loved school.
I loved September because September meant going to school. Not back to school. I never thought of it as going back to school. In my mind, it was moving forward in school. Advancing on a path to the next great adventure, the next door opening, the next road taken. A kaleidoscope of choices, of places to hear about, a world that unfolded before my eyes chapter by chapter, year by year.
And when each year would pause for the summer break, I was the strange and different child who would cry, sad and heartbroken, as if to discover that all of the crayons in the box were broken. I couldn’t wait for my new box of crayons and my school supplies to come and the adventure to begin again.
My school bus days are long behind me now. Except for the children of my own that get on them. Still…every year…at the first change of color in the leaves, the first hint of coolness in the breeze, a part of me yearns for a fresh box of crayons, my own new school supplies and new classes to get those learning juices going again. Even as the playfulness of summer is still fresh in my mind there is another part of me, the perpetual student, heading off to the bookstore for new books to read, thirsting for knowledge, chomping at the bit for the next discovery in the chapter of life.
It’s September. The Labor Day Weekend has been put to rest with celebration, family and good friends. The husband is off to work and the children have climbed the yellow school bus with fresh new school supplies in hand. Early this morning, I took out my own fresh journal that I felt compelled to buy and began writing down new lists, new beginnings. It’s the start of a new time of year after all. Time to begin again, wipe the slate clean. Start fresh…with a new box of possibilities…
I come up to the office and I open up the box. It has been sitting here waiting for me, as I knew it would. Just as it has been for the last several years. I carefully lift open the top and peek inside. Every crayon point is poised and ready. Every crayon in its original space. As if to say…In case of emergency…Color Here. I inhale deeply the aroma of paraffin wax and paper and shiver slightly as that childhood thrill brings a smile. My own box of possibilities. Ready any time I need it. Every day. 64 ways to begin again…with endless combinations…as far as my dreams, imaginations and desire to learn will take me.
It’s never too late.
What will September bring for you?
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Read the Comments
37 Outstanding Responses to "Changing Colors"
Jenny on September 2, 2008 at 8:52 pm • Permalink
September certainly brings many things this year. A new board position, a long weekend getaway, most likely a second job and all the while I still have to take care of stuff I do now, posting on my blog, working the full time job and everything else I manage to fit in. Time Management is going to be a big factor into all of this, however my skill in that area tend to be lacking! I seriously need to figure out a plan of some sort so that I can survive all of this without needing the men with white jackets tracking me down! I just don’t always know where to start!
I always loved my new crayons and markers and colored pencils! I would spend hours organizing my pencil box and notebooks and folders before school started and packed them strategically in my bookbag! I kind of miss those days!
Jenny’s last blog post..Holy Macaroni!
Friar on September 3, 2008 at 1:32 am • Permalink
I always loved those crayons when they were still sharp.
When they eventually got used up…they weren’t quite as “Special” anymore. I was always a bit saddened at that.
Eventually, they wore down, and ended up in the generic “Communal Crayon Box”, which was an old cigar box.
Friar’s last blog post..Travels with the Bear: Northern Ontario
Lance on September 3, 2008 at 1:39 am • Permalink
I love that story Wendi – both for the love of learning you have, and for that silly box of crayons – and what it means.
And you’ve got me thinking…what kind of rainbows can we all create with the crayons we have in our life? What pictures can we color, what will they represent?
When go out to eat, sometimes we’ll still get crayons for the kids. And you know what, it’s always fun to color in the pictures in the little book they give us too! You’ve reminded me why. It’s about creating a picture. And in creating that picture, we’re expressing ourselves and showing a bit of our true colors.
So, what does September bring for me? When I think of September, I think of a change of seasons. Leaves changing colors, temperatures cooling off. And, it brings school. So, what I see is September is a month of change. And change is good. So, I look forward to September and new possibilities.
Lance’s last blog post..Stimulate Creativity
Karen Swim on September 3, 2008 at 1:40 am • Permalink
Ahhh, I share your enthusiasm for September, crayons and school. In fact tomorrow I am headed to my happy place which some call the Library! I love the Library all year long but somehow it becomes extra special in September. This month is my new beginning. I plan to add new layers to my business and tackle the challenges I tucked away in the heat of summer. The seasons go by too quickly so I plan to savor each day of this wonderful month and this season. Thank you Wendi for sharing the colors in your box with us.
Barbara Swafford on September 3, 2008 at 8:05 am • Permalink
Hi Wendi,
I love your childhood story. It reminds me of me and my siblings. School would be out for the summer, and we would spend many days “playing school”. Such great memories.
Ahhh yes, the smell of crayons.
I still love to color with the grandkids. And, I don’t even worry if I color outside the lines.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Plugins, Questions and Open Mic
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome on September 3, 2008 at 8:25 am • Permalink
I never went back to school either – I always hoped for something new and different and exciting. I didn’t have a great school life socially, so September always offered an opportunity for something to have happened over the summer (the bullies moving away, some new person who’d be a kindred spirit moving in) to make school exciting and fun.
Unfortunately that never happened during grade school and by high school I’d learned to create the excitement from within (sometimes in not so healthy ways), although I still had the hope that some super cute guy would have moved to town who would fall madly in love with me that first day back.
Because we’re so programmed to think of September as the start to the year, I usually launch new projects then – and true to form, next week I’m launching an email workshop based on my blog: Curing Someday Syndrome.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome’s last blog post..Practicing Flexibility to Remain Steady
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome on September 3, 2008 at 8:26 am • Permalink
Ah shoot, I always forget to click the “notify me” box…
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:09 pm • Permalink
Jenny,
September is such a hopeful time isn’t it?
We can talk about the time management part. I’ve been thinking about that…I have an idea…..hmmm…..
You will be fine
Friar,
we had one of those communial boexes too except it was a jar. Then my major creative Mom got into candle making for awhile and we made crayon candles out of them. That was pretty cool. I’ve forgotten how to do that but I do remember that ir was pretty messy.
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:11 pm • Permalink
Friar,
By the way,
welcome back! I don’t think you should be allowed to leave that long anymore. its WAY to serious in cyberland without you. I had to send Steph to her room instead of you.
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:15 pm • Permalink
Lance,
Ah, resteraunt crayons! how fun! Around here one of the places we go has an etch-a-scetch collection that they also hand out. Little mini ones. I play with those too and make intricate designs and castles and such. So much fun. I’m telling you, I will never grow up.
Change is good. Change keeps us young and vibrant, full of color and life. It renews us. Yes, September is a month of renewal I think.
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:20 pm • Permalink
Karen,
The Library! I want to come! Yes the Library was my childhood playground. I’m afraid it has been replaced by Barnes and Nobles these days. I’m terrible about not wanting to give the books back.
My husband is convinced he is already living in a library.
I too have lots of goals and plans for this month. Both for business and for health, exercise and home. What were they thinking when they made September a 30 day month? I need more days!
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:23 pm • Permalink
Barbara,
We used to play school all the time! Now I watch my kids and grankids do it. Some things are timeless. I think thats one of the things I love about the simplicity of crayons. They are timeless too. With all the change in life, you can always just pick up a box of crayons and feel the sameness and security.
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 12:28 pm • Permalink
Alex,
You have a point. The *hope* of September. Kind of like the Hope of the New Year. The time to start projects, diets, plans…..fresh starts, new friendships.
I’m looking forward to your launch! Good luck with that. Let our community know how to best support you!
Karen Swim on September 3, 2008 at 12:35 pm • Permalink
LOL! Wendi, I love buying books too but when my husband was alive I rediscovered the library. Books were overtaking our home and I was put on a book buying fast! I still buy too but not as much and the library is a fantastic place. I’d love to have you come along.
steph on September 3, 2008 at 1:23 pm • Permalink
I LOVE crayons!! I still love to colour. Every year for Christmas we got a new colouring book and crayons. When I babysat, all I wanted to do was colour in the kids’ books and read to them. Only a few years ago, when I realized I didn’t have a copy of Dr. Seuss’s the Grinch on my shelves, I bought the colouring book version, and set to work with pencil crayons, which I also love.
I know your theme is on newness, on starting fresh. Reminds me of Anne of Green Gables: A new day, fresh with no mistakes in it. And I am up for this. Over the past couple of days I’ve been wholly inspired by you all, and the (lucky) demise of my computer, to start fresh, attack my Someday list, and move forward.
But you’ve also reminded me of a huge love, and your words so evoked that passion I haven’t indulged in a few years. I’m going out to find a colouring book and crayons. And every time I need a bit of down time, as I would do with my journal or my blog, I’m going to do something creative. I’m going to colour. For me it’s therapeutic. A non-artist’s form of art therapy.
Thanks, Wendi!
steph’s last blog post..Letting Go
Jenny on September 3, 2008 at 1:57 pm • Permalink
Bring it on! I’m up for any ideas you have! I know I need the help!
Jenny’s last blog post..Holy Macaroni!
Karen Putz / DeafMom on September 3, 2008 at 3:24 pm • Permalink
September always is bittersweet for me. It’s a goodbye to summer, which is my favorite time of the year. It’s a hello to the creative side of me, because the kids are back to school and I can focus on writing.
But that box of crayons– wow that’s a reminder that we can always go back to being kids again and starting anew!
Karen Putz / DeafMom’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday–Leap!
Friar on September 3, 2008 at 3:53 pm • Permalink
@Wendi
Aww…I’m flattered that everyone missed me (I didnt’ realize I had such an effect on cyberland).
As much as I missed everyone, it was great to get UNPLUGGED and off the grid. I really needed that break.
Though I wish I could have been around to see you send Steph to her room! Heh heh.
@Steph
I graduated to color pencils, when my Grandma bought me a huge box. That was back in 1976….I was twelve. I think that helped start me on my cartooning spree.
And I still have most of those pencils…!!
Friar’s last blog post..Lessons in Pike Psychology
steph on September 3, 2008 at 5:05 pm • Permalink
@ Friar: Coloured pencils are actually my favourite medium for kid’s illustrations in books, those soft pictures are always so beautiful. That and watercolour. Those are my faves.
Just thinking about all these supplies makes me want to splurge in an art shop (the ones in France are my favourite), or even just at Toys ‘R’ Us, or something!
steph’s last blog post..Letting Go
steph on September 3, 2008 at 5:06 pm • Permalink
whoops, kids’ illustrations, not kid’s.
steph’s last blog post..Letting Go
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 6:18 pm • Permalink
Friar & Steph,
I love colored pencils as much. really. I do art with my watercolor pencils because I can travel with them. And Steph…letting me loose in an Art store is JUST as bad as letting me loose in a book store. I can go crazy just touching all the different weights of paper and feeling all the textures and then the paint, and the charcoals and oh…..the choices…Ahhhhhhh…..the stuff daydreams are made of…..
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 6:21 pm • Permalink
Friar, It’s really OK for you to get unplugged. Really, I mean you are entitled to be unplugged just like the rest of us. We’ll survive…sure we will. We can handle it. No problem.
maybe you could um..just like publish Friar’s greatest Hits or something brfore you do that next time and we can thumb through the pages until we wear them out.
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 6:23 pm • Permalink
Karen P.
Welcom to LLI SO glad to have you here! hope you will come here often and consider subscribing!
Yes, we can always play with our child side. Heavens knows I do…Ahem…a bunch of us do around here….so come and hang out and color with us!
Melissa Donovan on September 3, 2008 at 7:13 pm • Permalink
I can smell the crayons and it’s a scent I love. In fact, just thinking about crayons, I can feel creativity welling up inside me. What a beautiful ode to September, to school, to new beginnings… another beautifully written post Wendi.
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..September News & Announcements
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 7:53 pm • Permalink
Thanks Melissa,
My crayons are still sitting on my desk right next to me since I wrote the post. I haven’t felt like putting them away yet. Every now and then I take another whiff. Ah….the scent. September…
You are right…it smells like creativity.
Ellen Wilson on September 3, 2008 at 9:01 pm • Permalink
Wendi,
I’m happy my kids are back in school. I’m happy for a routine where I can dream, write and photograph. It is interesting this time of year…how we react.
Your site is working fine for me. Like I mentioned on mine, I bet Harry was working on it when you popped in.
I also wanted to mention too, that your comment there was inspirational. I really liked it! It is the mark of a very good writer to inspire others to dream and create.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Disappearing Barns of the Midwest
Wendi on September 3, 2008 at 9:06 pm • Permalink
Thanks Ellen,
Glad you stopped in! I am enjoying this first week back, settling in to a routine, even getting back to regular work outs again…ah yes….consistency….
Lance on September 4, 2008 at 2:40 am • Permalink
Wendi, that’s a great attitude – don’t ever grow up! Act like a kid and have fun!!
Lance’s last blog post..Stimulate Creativity
Stacey / Create a Balance on September 4, 2008 at 2:04 pm • Permalink
I admire your ability to embrace September. I recognize all the great wonders September has to offer…but for me September is my transition month when I slowing and sadly say goodbye to summer. Today, in Chicagoland, is the cloudiest and coldest day we have had in months. It makes me frown. After reading your post and writing my comments I’m realizing how much weather impacts my thoughts and attitude. This is empowering me to shift my perspective. I think I need to create a “Why I Love Fall” poster and hang it in my house. Thanks for the push!
Stacey / Create a Balance’s last blog post..Drum Roll for My New Blog Roll!
Vered - MomGrind on September 4, 2008 at 5:33 pm • Permalink
You write beautifully!
The way you captured the sense of newness, of a fresh start, of endless possibilities… wow.
Vered – MomGrind’s last blog post..Quirky, Yet Boring
Wendi on September 4, 2008 at 5:36 pm • Permalink
Lance, I don’t plan on ever growing old or growing up. Kelly from
maximumcustomerexperience.com calls me the Wendibird (taken from a Peter Pan conversation we had) It works for me.
Learning and playing keeps me young.
Wendi on September 4, 2008 at 5:38 pm • Permalink
Stacey,
I am here in Chicagoland right with you. There are a few of us. I know it is dreary out there.
But here at the Lighthouse it is always beautiful ( Thanks to Harry) so we focus on that. We can make the day anything we want it to be.
Wendi on September 4, 2008 at 6:01 pm • Permalink
Vered,
Thank you for such a nice compliment!
It is so nice to have you here! I hope you consider coming often and consider subscribing so that you will not miss future posts. I would love to have you join our community!
Cath Lawson on September 4, 2008 at 9:15 pm • Permalink
Hi Wendi – I love the smell of crayons too. But I don’t share your love of school.
This September is weird for me, as my youngest has started secondary school. And my eldest has started the same school – which is his third secondary school (he had problems). So I’m really hoping things will turn out well. So far they seem to be liking it.
Cath Lawson’s last blog post..10 Interviews With Successful People
Evelyn Lim on September 5, 2008 at 2:46 am • Permalink
I enjoy the way you relate the box of crayons to the entire story of school, September and new possibilites. Very creatively written! Love it and stumbled!
Evelyn
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..An Enchanting Vision From My Angels
Wendi on September 5, 2008 at 3:33 pm • Permalink
Evelyn,
Thank you for stumbling and the compliment! I am glad you are continuing to join us here! I hope you will come often, we love to have you!
Mistress O on September 6, 2008 at 11:53 pm • Permalink
This evening, following a “catch up” with Wendi, my mind is almost over filled with what I see. There is a beauty and order in September. Leaves are turning yellow. Baby Birch Tree is experiencing his first Leaf Fall and he is hanging onto his leaves like no tomorrow! My gardens are lush in final bloom.
The neighbor mended his fence line. September brings on those last minute fix it afternoons, here in the Midwest. All day the birds chattered above and around his labor. This night he will light his outdoor Chiminea, for the first time since February. The scent of the slowly burning wood – intoxicating. Alto chimes will send out gentle tones into the night as I sit on the screened in back porch, wine freeing my mind, darkness freeing my soul.
September brings to me a time of reflection and peace, a time of harvesting all the past 8 long months have brought.
Blessed Be,
Ms. O & The Three Indy Kiis
Hotel Agatha