Crayons

Cleaning off my desk at work and preparing to leave for the day, I scooped up five leftover crayons from a project my creative writing class worked on last week.

As I let them roll and settle on the counter, I noticed their names turn over and present themselves to me one at a time. Distinct and distant memories filled my mind and took me away from this little slice of today and into slices of many yesterdays.

I thought of Princess Cerulean, the character I created in Mrs. Young's 8th grade English class. I remember that I drew a picture of her to accompany my story, but I have no memories of actually drawing her. I just remember the image of the simplified princess filled with colored pencil, resting her elbows on a balcony that overlooked the kingdom but which now overlooked our classroom. Mrs. Young posted the drawing on the wall, mounted on rich blue construction paper.

Grandma unintentionally ordered extra asparagus at Longhorn Steakhouse the last time she visited us in Utah. It's tradition that whenever Grandma and Aunt Tracy are in town, Grandma treats us to a delicious dinner at one of her favorite places here. That night, they gave her so much asparagus, she didn't know what to do with it all. She and I ended up splitting the generous serving, and it's still the best asparagus I've ever eaten.

Miss Scarlett in the library with a wrench. Another flash takes me to childhood game nights with my best friend Tatiana. We busted out my dad's old version of the game in an olive green box with 1960s bubble lettering spelling out "Clue" over a big encircled thumbprint. Next to the lettering, cartoon versions of each character, reminiscent of the "Bewitched" opening sequence, stood in a line. I can still feel the tiny metal weapons between my fingers and hear the sound as they plunked down onto the game board. I never was very good at the game, but I was always up for a good mystery.

My little sister, barely waist high, bustled around the sharp green grass next to our cabin in Idaho, her bright blonde hair flowing behind her. She raced up and down the little swell next to the water pump, grabbing up every dandelion she could find. I remember how stark the vibrant yellow was next to the deep green of the grass. It stands out in my memory like a high contrast photo.

Finally, the last memory surfaces. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in a Victorian photography studio. I pulled a historical looking dress on over my typical travel jeans and a t-shirt. The photographer braided my hair back and clipped in a small Civil War era hat. I saw my travel buddy and bestie, Hilary, in a similar frock. I looked down at myself and had to laugh. We had been transformed into complete ladies! They positioned us. (Hilary sitting with her hands in her lap holding a book. Me standing with one hand on Hilary's shoulder, the other grasping a fan.) They told us not to smile and snapped the picture.  We framed it to look like an heirloom and hung it in our apartment when we were roommates. After moving into my house a few months ago, I recently unpacked the box holding that framed sepia tone photo from our Gettysburg trip. I giggle every time I see our intense, no-nonsense faces in period costume.

Cerulean. Asparagus. Scarlet. Dandelion. Sepia. It's amazing what a few rolling crayons can do.

🖤MK

#SOL18 Day 7

Comments

  1. Isn’t it fun to let our memories flood back in and it only took a few crayons.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was a perfect read. I felt like I was actually there as a bystander watching each moment unfold.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love when something so simple can provoke memories. My favorite line is : Distinct and distant memories filled my mind and took me away from this little slice of today and into slices of many yesterdays. So many times I am taken back to yesteryear and wonder how life has moved so fast.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your memories are lovely. I absolutely love that you connected each color to a different, distinct memory. I especially like how you did not share the colors until the very end. The flow felt perfect and the format certainly worked. Beautiful pieces!! One of my favorites of the challenge so far!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for this little journey! How fun to step through your memories with you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my gosh, those photographs!! We look like such grandmas. I have always wanted to include that photograph in a collection of primary source photos and share them with students and see if anyone notices. :D

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts