Remember your first box of crayons? You know, the wax crayons that stained your fingers and snapped in two if you pushed a little too hard? If you close your eyes, I bet you can almost smell them.
Back on the farm, we had an old tin box that my Tante Marie-Ange brought home for Montréal; it was already well-loved, but it quickly became a favourite in our home. It contained pieces of crayons, some so tiny they were hard to hold. It didn’t really matter though; when that little tin came out of the desk, we were in place and ready to create a masterpiece. Mom would put a Hank Williams album on the record player and start to work on supper while Monique and I coloured.
Monique was and still is the artist in the family and my colouring book looked nothing like hers, but that didn’t seem to matter. It’s hard to describe, but there was a certain sense of accomplishment after the crayons were collected and we stood back and admired our work.
When I think back to those colouring sessions, I now realize that they often followed a high energy activity. Mom quickly realized that when that little tin of crayons came out, we settled down. I’m not sure if it was the act of shifting our focus, the smell of supper on the stove or the sweet sounds of Hank Williams, but it worked.
Kids still “colour” but recently I’ve met quite a number of “grown-ups” who have picked up crayons, pencils, markers or even paint brushes to find their focus. I would like to feature your artwork on Weather By Day.
You can send a photo of a recent work of art along with a line or two about your inspiration or your reason for picking up the crayons after so many years to [email protected]
I look forward to sharing your creations!
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- Have a weather question, photo or drawing to share with Cindy Day? Email[email protected]
Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network.
