Sheila Sims Iding
It should be a simple thing. I think for most people, it probably is a simple thing. At least I hope it is a simple thing. But for me…it’s complicated. I tend to do that when I over think, over wonder, over reflect and over ponder. I take a simple thing and overdo.
It started out simple. When we took down all that 80’s wallpaper and painted the walls different rich shades of brown, my dear friend, advisor and mentor, Chris Ehrenberger, told me I would need a “pop” color. You can’t have ALL brown…even with 3 different shades. You have to have an accent color that “pops”. It sounded liked good advice. It was good advice. Chris was right. Chris is always right.
Where I got stuck was trying to decide which color. Several came to mind and I got stuck on cranberry red (Don’t you just love that deep red?) and what I call “meadow” green. It’s that bright green with just enough brown to keep it from being lime green. It’s probably most like the moss on a tree but moss green doesn’t sound as fun as “meadow” green. (Does that qualify as over thinking a color name?) So back and forth I went trying to visualize and decide between cranberry and meadow.
Well…when you over think, over wonder, over reflect and over ponder…it makes it really hard to make a decision. So…I didn’t. I over decided. I decided to use the cranberry red “pop” color for fall/winter and the meadow green for spring summer. Perfect. It’s worked for a few years now. I love it. I love both colors and still can’t decide which one I love best. If you asked my family they would say the cranberry…hands down. But I’ve learned to only ask myself and I still say BOTH.
So…this weekend, as the seasons change, and the warm temperatures creep their way into my love of snow, it was time for the switch over. It was time to switch out the cranberry red of fall/winter to the meadow green of spring/fall. It’s an exciting thing to do but it takes almost a whole day to pack and unpack. To take down and put up, To place and replace those colors. Decorating for a season is like decorating for a holiday…at least for me.
Still it could be simple. Out with the cranberry and in with the meadow. Well not so fast my surface thinking friends. There is much more to that because of the over thinking, over wondering, over reflecting and over pondering. Because as I switch over the colors a flood of memories and emotions and reflections fill my mind…my heart each and every time I do this.
When I got the cranberry “pop” stuff out last fall, what was different? Well…Joey and Addie weren’t engaged, Joey didn’t have his new job, my young friend wasn’t diagnosed with cancer, and a special warrior in Wisconsin had more hope for her cancer than she does the day I take the cranberry down. Juergen and Hanni hadn’t visited yet. I knew of their beautiful son, Finnegan, but I hadn’t fallen in love with him yet. His toys hadn't decorated our house and his laughter hadn’t decorated our hearts. When the cranberry was unpacked last fall, Pepper didn’t know she’d have to have hip surgery and we didn’t know that Tim would get an extra week at Christmas. I didn’t know that I would be giving my grandmother’s ring to Joey for Addie and I had no idea he would buy me a new one to replace it. Bud Kouts didn’t have a beautiful new showroom and Harriet, our classroom hamster, wasn’t so chubby yet.
As the emotions of special memories and difficult times and celebrations flood back with the removal of the cranberry, there is also a sense of comfort in the things that stayed the same. Pat, Adam and I have the same jobs, Tim is still loving China (and China is loving Tim), I still have the same special group of Care Corner Kids and all our pets are thriving. The MSU basketball team is full of promise heading in to the NCAA tourney…just it was heading into the season. The comfort of things that stay the same…except for my weight. The unpacking of the cranberry and the repacking of the cranberry leaves me still packing too many pounds.
So with the meadow green ready to “pop” the rich browns, I unpack not just meadow green accessories but hope for the spring/summer seasons that lie ahead. I over think about new jobs, new homes, new beginnings. I over wonder about faraway missionary work. I over reflect on people healing, weddings happening, showers bestowing and summer days heating. I over ponder about Tigers winning and weight losing.
As I pack up the cranberry red pillows, the cranberry red quilt, the cranberry red candles, table runners and wreaths I pack way the memories of the last six months. As I unpack meadow green, I over think, over wonder, over reflect and over ponder what the next half-year will bring. I am excited and unsettled about what our lives may be like when I unpack that cranberry again in the fall. For some of us it will be unchanging but for many it will be life changing and so, with that, I also unpack hopes for better days and happier ways. I may over think, over wonder, over reflect and over ponder this switch over twice a year but I also over hope…and that can never be a bad thing. Here’s to the switch over…and here’s to over hoping…no matter what season or “pop” color.