Color My World

The news events of yesterday got me thinking, so indulge me a bit. I don't usually get nostalgic or caught up in news events in a personal way (though I am a talk radio junkie). But something about the news of Michael Jackson's death really impacted me. I am not one of those fanatical fans (but, yes, I have the albums). I think his life reflected the tragic experience of a man highly gifted by God but who did not know His grace, how to use his talents for His glory, and highly caught up in personal adoration and gratification from a world in need of an idol. But that being said, yes, that 7-year-old little girl intently working out the choreography to Bad and Thriller in her backyard was me. I'll admit it. I LOVED his music when I was a kid. I had the action figure and I could make him moonwalk like nobody's business. Too bad my brother stole the tiny little sequin socks. I still want those back. Anyway, what was the point? Oh. The point. So I was listening to all these Michael Jackson songs playing over and over in the house yesterday (because the news was just too interesting to turn off on a blistering hot day...), and I was burning this Vanilla Lime Yankee Candle that smelled just like one of my old Strawberry Shortcake dolls (Lime Chiffon, I believe was her name). I felt like I was in my backyard in Roanoke 20-some years ago playing while my Mom watched out her sewing room window. I was in awe of that all day, because my. memory. stinks. Stinks I tell you. I have lots and lots and lots of trouble remembering things, especially from when I was a kid. It's rare that I have a vivid memory from being elementary school aged, and I just can't describe what it felt like to actually be able to see in my mind my old swing set with the grapevine behind it and bees swarming about. My little inner tube trampoline that played heavily in said MJ choreography. The steps leading up to the little screened in porch. The fence between our yard and Mrs. McGregor's driveway. Seriously, I might just have to cry!

And did you know I'm a synesthete? How's that for a cool new word of the day? I see words and letters in color. Always have. And I believe Kellen is, too. (My name is green, by the way, with hints of orange). It's hard enough picking baby names without also having to be sure the color of the name is pleasing to me. I need lots of sensory input to form associations for my memory. If I was studying for a test, I REALLY needed the TV or radio on in the background, not to watch it, but so I would have something to hang facts onto for recall. Then later, the test question would call up the particular song lyric or line from the song/show that played in the background while I studied, and it was much easier for me to remember what I needed to. So yesterday was kind of sensory overload for me and the memories just kept flooding in. Cool.

And I think that's why I'm borderline obsessed with pictures. A lot of what I remember from being a kid comes from snapshots I have seen in albums. Same goes for my own kids. If I don't have a picture of it, forget it. It may as well never have happened. And so I document. Hopefully my own kids have better memories than I do, and they will have no trouble recalling the fond and not-so-fond experiences of their childhoods as the years go by. But just in case, I'm here with my camera, trying to capture the many unbelievable ways they are blessed, the ways they have blessed their Mom and Dad, the relationships they have formed, their successes and mistakes, the mundane of the every day and the excitements of every day. The beauty that God has created on this earth and the ugliness that will make them cling to His mercy and grace.

So now on to some more memories for the kids.

1. Little Rella's First Ballet Class! she has been looking forward to this since about march. she's been asking over and over when she gets to go to class. turns out she wasn't quite as excited when she realized she was to go in without me, so I'm glad I decided just to bring mr. fuji along since I ended up taking most of the class myself. hopefully as the summer goes on, she'll get more comfortable about going into the class by herself. she seems to be by far the youngest in the group. but she's cute!

2. Pool time with friends. hi-hat is not the most confident in the water, mostly because he doesn't want to get water up his nose. turns out this $1 pair of nose clips was a sound investment! literally swimming in no time. i never would have thought back in my nose-clip-wearing days of synchronized swimming that my son would be the one to also wear nose clips in the pool. but hey, whatever works!

did I mention the nose clips gave him confidence?!

hmmm. I'm a bit afraid of her in this picture!

just having too much fun!

and I had to post the little lady getting clean after her swim. :)

3. Slip n Slide fun. if you know me on facebook, this is old news, but I like the pictures and I really like the slip n slide. when I was a kid, the slip n slide was staked into the ground with sharp metal stakes every few feet along the slide. should have been named the "slip n slide you way to cuts and scrapes." always ended up with cuts, tears and band aids. but we kept coming back for more! (how's that for some childhood memory?!?!) now there are just two plastic stakes at the top of the slide. the kids love it. wondering if i'll dare take a turn before the summer ends... don't hold your breath.
Will post more about Fancy's 5th birthday later, but for now it's Saturday with no agenda, so I'm going to go hang out with my kids. and maybe light a candle and listen to some 80s music...