Don’t you love the feeling of a new year? It’s like getting a new notebook or a new set of markers. Everything is fresh and untouched. Pure as the driven snow or whatever that phrase is. The points are still sharp on every Crayon in the box on New Year’s Day. You just want to sit there for a few moments and bask in the scent of brand-spankin’-new opportunities.
Unfortunately, if you’re anything like me, by about January 3, the points have broken off of at least your top five favorite Crayon colors and, more than likely, you’ve dropped the entire box at least once so you might as well toss it out. You’d think by the ripe old age of…well…ummmmm…fifty divided by two plus fifteen minus five (almost) that I’d be able to handle my Crayons in a more adult fashion.
Here’s the thing- have you ever watched a little kid color? I don’t mean the ole just-killin-time-color. I mean the kind of coloring where it’s almost like someone has a gun to this kid’s head saying “You better stay in those lines or I’ll shoot you!”. They’re INTENSE. They don’t care if the wrapper is half off of their favorite shade of purple or if they only have a nub of Golden Sienna left with which to complete their noon-day sky. If they can find even anything close to the color they’re shooting for, it’s a good day. And the best? THE BEST is when two kids are coloring together and one can’t find her red so the other just breaks her red in HALF. Now tell me you don’t want to cry out when you see that go down. “Noooooooooooooooo, that was a virgin Crayon AND YOU RUINED IT!”
That’s my goal for 2012. No, I don’t plan to stalk small children with art supplies and harrass them when they’re practicing the life skill of sharing. My goal is to appreciate that any opportunity worth pursuing is going to get beat up a little bit. I want to use every single trace of Crayon in my new box this year. I can’t get frustrated that I’ve messed up my beautiful new 120 count box of Crayolas, toss them out, then fret because I have nothing to color with. Instead of opening the box and staring at those beautifully unblemished Crayons for hours on end, I plan to open the box, inhale that delicious aroma, maybe snap a quick ‘before’ photo and then color my ass off with those opportunities.
Hopefully by next year this time, the only thing left will be dust and the knowledge that broken Crayons lead to completed masterpieces.