Feeling Orange

I thought I was getting the flue. My body felt all kinds of achy, stomach wanted to revolt and I was getting a grump on. My body said "quit" but my brain said "sit". "Sit down and put your feet in a big bucket of hot water until it looks like you are wearing pink socks" was the exact direction. A lady from the CA St Grange had emailed me and gave me this advice when I told her I felt like I was coming down with something.
Feet in hot water? That's it? No 12 dollar flue medicine? No special potion with green goop?
I did it anyway.
I sat there for twenty minutes or so, feeling like a pilgrim who should have had a string of garlic around my neck as well.
Ten minutes later, when my feet and lower legs were pinker than a pig in July, my kids came home from school and sitting was not really the best of options. Snacks needed to be somewhat monitored or an entire weeks worth of chips might be inhaled. So I got up and put my feet in arm socks like she directed. And I felt awesome. Totally clear and good!

Wednesday afternoon is my "alone time, art lesson" with Ben. Although I normally would have blown it off and pleaded still sick, I felt fine, so I set up the colored pencils, asked him if he wanted to learn how to draw a portrait and we set to it. I picked purple. He picked orange. He learned the techniques of portraits. I remembered that, damn I can still draw!

After our sketching, I wanted to know more, not just about what he can, like draw a really cute portrait of himself, but how he thinks too, so I told him about an old friend who used to have an email address "Taylorfeelsorange@aol.com"
and I asked Ben,"If orange were a feeling what would you feel like?"
He mused "Hmmm... well, orange maks me think of pumpkins and pumpkins make me think of Halloween, and Halloween is like tricks...so I think mischievious!"
"Red?"
"Love"
"Green?"
"Hmmmm...recycling...so Helpful!"
"Blue?"
"Well....sad." His face drooped.
"Pink"
"Filled with peace!" Easy grin...I loved hearing how he thought!
"White?"
"Normal...umm balanced."
"Purple?"
"Healthy!"
He smiled his big beautiful happy smile, I loved everything about him, and I was so glad I wasn't sitting in bed having a pity party.
I was so glad I used an old fashioned tip to get healthy and have a new moment of connection with my son.
There is nothing more important than health. Our health gives us access to do all the other things we want to do and be all the other ways we want to be...like mischieviously orange:)
Here's to making extraordinary moments, living life to be creative, and listening for creativity in even the most ordinary of moments.

Zen Honeycutt