Green, Blue and Yellow

I returned late Monday night from my Spring Fling 2012, a five-day visit with Julia. It was wonderful! And as with all getaways, time passed too quickly.

Before I get back into full-blown Re-Entry to Reality mode though, I wanted to share with ya'll (yes, ma'am, I've been in the South) some of my thoughts and sights - in living color.
     
                                                                     GREEN!
                                                                       

Green velvet hills

Typical Lexington street

Everything everywhere in Kentucky is green, verdant and lush. And of course the natives don't "get it," because that's all they've ever known. I truly believe their eyes would bleed if they were to drive down I-5 in California (the Golden State) in the middle of summer.

So yeah, there I was...ensconced in glorious green-ness, symbolizing (to me anyway) Spring, growth, fertility, rebirth, nature. And then it happened: I turned more than a smidge green myself. As in, green with envy. 

There. I said it. 

I mean, forgetting the mother-daughter relationship, when a 54-year-old woman spends a concentrated period of time with a 20-year-old, one can't help but suffer a mild (or moderate) case of jealousy and irritation.

I'm envious that in Julia's world, cottage cheese is...just that, and it's on the top shelf in her fridge right now. I'm green(ish) about her uberly buoyant booty and her long and lustrous eyelashes (that she could almost braid). And the reality is: she has more spunk than three of those Energizer bunnies.

I don't think envy is a bad or ugly thing, though.  It's a perspective getter. And I came away thinking, It's your turn, Girl. Go for it! Make your mark!

And then another color emerged...

BLUE!

                               

                                                    C-A-T-S, CATS CATS CATS!

                                                  A non-California version of "sea of blue"

Okay. I kind of misrepresented. Kentucky isn't all green. There's also blue. UK blue! Where it's almost a felony to wear red (Louisville's color) whilst one is within a 50-mile radius of the University of Kentucky .

Lucky me. I touched down in Lexington less than 48 hours after the basketball team won their 8th NCAA National Championship! Every citizen and college student in the city was "bleeding blue," and a lot of proud, safe, happy and boisterous celebrating ensued.

A strange thing happened, though, on my flight back to Cali: I turned blue as well.  Not an I-need-to-triple-the-dose-of-Prozac kind of blue. Just blue.

I'm blue that "time is up" on doing all the quintessential Mom stuff, like changing dirty diapers and wiping cute littly snotty noses. I'm sad that the statute of limitations has run on my dispensing unsolicited, yet openly "devoured," advice as to how to handle the trauma and drama of "mean girls," the very same girls that were BFF's last week.  I miss the days of sometimes hostile negotiations that went on as to the length of skirts and the height of heels. I'm even melancholy that I don't get to play referee between two hormonal, irrational, screeching, kicking, fighting sisters anymore. 

Those days are gone. I've shot my wad. Fini.  Finito. Finished. Done.

And I'm blue about it.

But not to worry. There's always that happy color... 

                                                              YELLOW!



Yellow =  Sunshine, Warmth, Optimism, Happiness.

In the end, yellow will always trump the greens and blues.

And for all of us -- whether we're 23 or 54 or 82 -- the future is so bright, we just gotta wear shades!



Spring Fling 2012

The birds are chirping (yay!), random ants are appearing on my bathroom counter (boo!), my eyes are puffy and itchy (argh!), the camellias, tulips and azaleas are flaunting their colors, and one of God's best-ever creations, the sun, is getting all bright and warm.

Spring is here!

Oh, and visions of Chocolate Bunnies and Marshmallow Peeps are dancing in my head.

But the extra cool thing about this particular Spring is that I get to spend it with my youngest, my college-age, just-this-side-of-21 daughter, Julia! Kinda sad that I haven't spent an Easter with either of my girlies for several years. But such is the life of an Empty-Nester...and when one's daughters choose to go to college on the other side of the country. Not complainin'. Just sayin'.

So tomorrow morning the Super Shuttle comes to my home at 3:45 a.m. (A!!!M!!!!), to take me to Sac Metro Airport, where I will board a plane that will ultimately fly me to Lexington, Kentucky. Yep, that Lexington, thee University of Kentucky, home of thee Wildcats, who won thee NCAA National Championship in basketball last night, once again! (That deserves a blog post of its very own, which I shall write one day soon.)

And so it is that I'll be touching down in the Blue Grass state about this time tomorrow evening. And I can't wait. We have a few things planned -- horse races at Keeneland on Saturday, Easter morning church -- and a lot UNplanned. I'm happy doing nothing, I told her.

I'm thrilled to be able to "shadow" her everyday life. I'm thankful that she's "letting me in" her world, if only for five short days. And I predict that, more than twice, I'll sooooo wish I could turn back the clock and walk in her shoes. (Did I really just say that? Am I a bad Mom?) Whatever...

(Since I know she will probably read this, I won't tell you the best part of all:  I get to meet the boyfriend!!!From iPhone pics she's sent, and from what I've heard, he sounds wonderful! Please say a prayer that I don't scare him away.)

So I'll report back here soon with pictures and stories of what will be, I'm sure, a glorious and most memorable Spring Fling 2012.

Tangerine Dreams

So I had to return something to J Crew yesterday. Just real quick, in and out, I said to myself.

Well, since I'm here, I further "dialoged" with myself, I really should go check out the sales racks -- which of course are strategically (and wisely, on JC's part)  placed in the way-back of the store.

I eventually got to the stuff on sale... after having gotten sidetracked by one spring-y, pretty, trendy, tangerine-colored thingy after another.

Unless you reside in a cave, I'm sure you've seen all the catalogs, magazines and ads "yelling" how popular the "oranges" are this year. The It Color for 2012, they say. Tangerine, coral, papaya, mango, peony, salmon, poppy, apricot, Clemson orange (Go, Tigers!) -- and varying shades of all the aforementioned hues. Some brighter than others...

{Most of these shades, I've learned, will work.}

So I was lovin' life and happy with all my options as I headed into the dressing room...until I held a very bright tangerine blouse up to my face and took a gander in the mirror. What was I thinking? My.face.looked.horrid. Google "sallow skin," and that was me!  I was disappointed in myself (and embarrassed, quite frankly) that I honestly thought I could still pull off wearing those intense, bright, saturated colors.

In a matter of seconds, reality struck. Lesson learned: You're too old to wear the brights, Girl. And my Tangerine Dreams became a nightmare.

So I returned my previous J Crew item and made two new small purchases. Sadly, however, nothing in the orange-hued family.

Time was running out. I had to get home. But I persevered. I was determined to NOT leave the mall without something in the It Color to put on my body. Lipstick! That's it! I'll run into Nordstrom's really quick and get thee most perfect pop of coral-y/tangerine-y lip color, like, ever!

So I went to the Lancome counter, hoping to get the more mature consultant of the two. (The comfort-in- numbers/misery-loves-company thing.) But noooooo. I got the young, long-legged,  heavily-accented  Jennifer Lopez-lipped, Russian/Croatian/Czechoslavakian (one of those countries) beauty!  Whatever.

I explained that I wanted their most on-trend orange color they had. My first choice to try, of course, was their brightest coral. (Okay. I'm a slow learner.) She indulged me as she deftly applied it with her handy-dandy Q-tip. After looking at myself in the mirror, and then looking at her, I felt awful, because I knew she was aghast at my appearance, and she didn't quite know how to address the situation.

"It's too bright, huh?"

Perfect entree for her: "Uhhhh, yes, ma'am. Yes. Way. Way. Let's try a more natural color, something more subtle. I think that will look much better with your skin."

After a bit of back-and-forth, together we arrived at a much more muted color, but still in the tangerine fam, which I so desperately wanted. It's called Rouge In Love #322. And I think I like it. A lot. For now.

And I will save the bright corals/tangerines/poppys for pedicures and throw pillows.