How was your day?
July 29, 2003
Mine was pretty good. Typical late summer day in Iowa. A little humid, a little hazy, and lots of ?back-to-school? sales going on.
I love the back-to-school sales. When I was a kid, it was one of the most exciting times of the year for me next to Christmas. It used to be so much fun to walk through all of the downtown shops with my mom, picking out new clothes, shoes, paper and pencils, and ooooh? CRAYONS.
I shall confess this to you: today I went to the school supply aisle at Target and sniffed the boxes of new crayons. Oh sure, I have tons of them at home, but for some reason they smell different when they are still at the store. Hee. Virgin crayolas. They have the scent of impending magic upon them.
(I bet I could make a perfume called “Virgin Crayolas” and it would haul in a fortune! *Making a note to myself on this one…*)
I?ll tell you another secret, too. When I am out doing my annual crayon sniffing each fall, I always stop and say a silent prayer over all of the art supplies in the back-to-school section. I ask that the little kids who use them have fun and experience the pure joys of creating. I ask that if there is a child who needs to depend on their art skills in order to survive or make sense of the world (the way that I did) that they be especially blessed with an abundance of supplies. I ask that the pictures they draw, the rainbows that they paint, and all of the cutting and pasting they do with their busy little hands, go out into the world to make it a better, more loving place.
Lastly, I take out a $5 bill and write on it: ?Please buy a kid some more crayons,? then I fold it up tightly and tuck it into one of the boxes and put it back on the shelf.
Even little sticks of colored wax are powerful things when the right person gets them at the right time. 
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9 Responses to “How was your day?”
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Welcome to the here and now.
My name is Christine Thurow and I am a professional artist, living in my lovely home state of Iowa. My humor is sarcastic, my wit dry and my appetite for unbridled hedonism, ravenous. Did I say hedonism? I meant intelligent exchange.
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You are lil' kitten number:
Oh, that is a nice idea to make sure someone gets some new crayons!
That is so precious of you. You will be rewarded when you least expect! “Thank You” for being you!
These are the things that make me love you, Yankee Girl…
Z
I totally understand about the school shopping thing. I too looked forward to that time of year, for in some ways, school was a refuge for me.
The newness of the school year, the supplies and the promise of the future are so exciting.
What a great thing you do with the $5 bill. Thanks for passing it along. Locally we have a program where people can donate school supplies to needy kids - what fun it would be to put $5 into one of the boxes I give them and then the kids can do good too.
Wishing you another good day tomorrow,
Leah
You’re good people, you crazy crayon sniffer!
*hugs*
Jake
PS - got my date - August 19th - less than 3 weeks.
I completely understand. I do the same thing at Wilson’s Leather Store.
aiiiiiiiiieeeeee….Tigger!!! aka Nigel
whats it with this kitten?
I spent a bunch on stoopid lil bright colored noise toys and the lil ___________ is in the kitchen this am batting a small dixi cup around!
Makes me want to market a “grab bag” of kittens toys in a brown paper bag( cause they love gettin into sacks). Toss in a few dixie cups, some string, an empty prescription bottle, some straws and sell it for $9.95, guaranteed to keep your kitten mesmerized for hours.
I know you’ll want 2 bags Christine?
Z
I have a cupboard with nothing but (sadly) unused art supplies in it. Crayons, chalk, paper, markers, so on. My favorite is the play-doh. I take it out every once in a while just to smell it.
your soul is so beautiful. HUG.