I was mindlessly playing with the multi colored colored pencils. Just laying down swatches of color to see what they'd look like. Seeing how they blended. Wondering how I could use them. As the page began to fill up it reminded me of a story my mother used to tell......
When I was two years old I was in the hospital. Family lore has it my lungs collapsed. Although I doubt that, I do know it was some sort of breathing problem. They put me in a crib with an oxygen tent over it. My mother told me how lucky I was, I was the only little girl with my own 'house' in the whole hospital! Yeah, right.....snort. I did like the bucket of ice chips at the foot of the crib though. I liked to eat them.
I have very shady memories of what happened. But I do remember Dr. Newhart giving me a coloring book and a brand new box of crayons. I was disappointed it wasn't the 64 sized box, but it was still a brand new box of fresh, pointy Crayolas.
And I remember thinking how babyish the coloring book was.
So instead, I decided to color the crib sheet. It was a pristine white sheet just perfect for my masterpiece!
My mother says by the time she got back from the cafeteria with her cup of coffee I had scribbled over the entire crib sheet. Not one single speck of white was left showing. And I had quite a bit of crayon all over me too.
I remember feeling very proud of myself and of my masterpiece. I couldn't understand why no one else was impressed. Or why the nurse came in and changed the sheet on my crib.
Or why, after that, my mother never left my side........day or night..........
I wonder if it looked anything like this.....
When I was two years old I was in the hospital. Family lore has it my lungs collapsed. Although I doubt that, I do know it was some sort of breathing problem. They put me in a crib with an oxygen tent over it. My mother told me how lucky I was, I was the only little girl with my own 'house' in the whole hospital! Yeah, right.....snort. I did like the bucket of ice chips at the foot of the crib though. I liked to eat them.
I have very shady memories of what happened. But I do remember Dr. Newhart giving me a coloring book and a brand new box of crayons. I was disappointed it wasn't the 64 sized box, but it was still a brand new box of fresh, pointy Crayolas.
And I remember thinking how babyish the coloring book was.
So instead, I decided to color the crib sheet. It was a pristine white sheet just perfect for my masterpiece!
My mother says by the time she got back from the cafeteria with her cup of coffee I had scribbled over the entire crib sheet. Not one single speck of white was left showing. And I had quite a bit of crayon all over me too.
I remember feeling very proud of myself and of my masterpiece. I couldn't understand why no one else was impressed. Or why the nurse came in and changed the sheet on my crib.
Or why, after that, my mother never left my side........day or night..........
I wonder if it looked anything like this.....
Sounds like you had pneumonia. And wow! Even at a young age you were destined to be an artist. Too bad everyone is a critic! I loved your story.Thanks for starting my day with a smile.
ReplyDeleteYour life has come full circle. Here you are playing with crayons again.😂
ReplyDelete