On the Periphery

Things change. Life throws us curves and changeups. It's good to have a place to vent.

Monday, January 12, 2009

My world has never been so white.

It took a long time, a lot of hard work, and 14 pounds that needed to be lost anyway, but we're moved in and, it appears, settled into a world of white.

I don't remember ever having seen so much snow (I know I have, but it's like childbirth--you forget the pain), and I am thankful my new driveway is shorter than the old one. The repeating blizzard pattern is blinding, and the constantly refreshed snow cover keeps things bright. Unfortunately, that unceasing whiteness is carried over into our new house.

I don't discount the idea of painting your entire house in neutral colors in order to sell it, but my sellers really took that idea to heart. Everything is in tones of blah. The walls are white, the carpet, which has seen better days, is beige, and even the wallpapered areas are done in a nondescript, patternless pattern that fades off into nothingness. It's depressing--even more so when I realize that I have to paint (and peel) so much!

I need color--we all do. It heightens our emotions and defines our lives. That's one of the reasons I do love winter, at least to a point: it clears my mind, lets me rest a bit, and readies me for change. The stark black of trees against the purity of white is soothing. The blend of earth and sky makes everything feel more expansive, and I can breathe easier, even if I am breathing in icy needles.

But enough is enough. I was finished with the cold and the snow before New Year's Eve. I'm tired of white walks, boring walls, pasty skin, my eyes bouncing from white to beige to eggshell in the desperate search for a bright spot. I am looking longingly at Fauvist art and craving bright colors I would never otherwise have considered for my rooms.

It's been a long winter, and we all are ready for the colors of optimism and joy and the eternal hope that spring brings.

Reading back, I realize this entire entry could be considered a metaphor for our current political situation. It wasn't meant to be that, but it works, and that's okay, too. That's the writing lesson for today: the wonder of words. They possess whatever meaning the reader sees in them, and if they inspire, provoke, or give thought in any way, then you as a writer are doing your job.

Your words are powerful, too. Use them wisely.

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