Color Me Happy
If I’m looking for cheap thrills (as most of us are in January), nothing (other than a quick trip to Sephora and pinching my husband) brings me a thrill like…
….a new journal with a fresh pen. A sharp pencil with a virgin eraser can do the trick as well. They bring me joy, peace, enthusiasm and comfort all at once. Add some fresh markers to the mix? I’m smiling from ear to ear with a little shiver.
Perhaps my irrational joy has it’s origins in my childhood. My parents fully embraced the 1970’s “they’ll be fine” style of parenting, which, I guess had it merits based on how many Facebook articles I read about it. Rode our bikes all day and all that. The ugly, practical side is I feel like I spent my childhood looking for a fresh piece of paper and a pencil longer than 2 inches with a serviceable eraser, often to no avail. My pleas for said items were met with a detached “maybe if I get around to it”. It’s possible they wanted me to create the items from tree bark or dirt during my seemingly endless outdoor time.
As you can imagine, I fell in love with my first corporate job based primarily on the fact employees had open access to the supply closet. Pens, fresh pens, oh the sweet, sweet sight of hundreds of pens and pencils. And notebooks! It probably goes without saying I overcorrected with my own children and rank fresh writing implements and paper only slightly below buying food on the scale of importance.
When “adult coloring books” entered my awareness, I felt like I was staring at my future. The books claim to reduce stress, and I could feel the stress melting away as I pictured myself knee deep in an intricate flower design. Thanks to Amazon, two days later I had two glorious coloring books and some fresh fine point markers, at the sight of which my 8 year old self would have passed out cold.
Imagine my surprise when I sat down to reduce some holiday stress with my markers and my coloring book and found myself…..more stressed. Wait, whuut? I kept coloring, believing the stress was bound to go away. Nope, still stressed. Actually, even more stressed. It turns out, the reality of 10,000 tiny coloring nooks on one sheet of paper brings up the same feelings as laundry; a suffocation like it will never end and I will never have enough time.
I made a vow when I started this website that I would only put positive things into the world. With that in mind, I don’t want to leave you with a negative review. I’m happy to report that there is an upside to grown-up coloring books that make them worthwhile! While coloring in them alone made me feel hostile, when I colored with my kids we engaged in some super meaty conversations. The kind that come with a feeling of connection you also read lots of Facebook articles about. There’s nothing like a great talk with your child to make you feel like a parenting genius, right? In summary, I am all for adult coloring books WITH your kids.
Although, there is one type of coloring book that I may still try, given my affection for swear words:
Hope you're experiencing all the cheap thrills you can handle this January!
Keely