Spring has sprung and flowers are blooming. Everyone who knows me sends pictures of purple flowers. Text messages, Snapchats, Pinterest messages, all with purple flowers. They make me smile.
Purple is my favorite color. I don’t know why, but it is. And llamas are my favorite animal. Not real live llamas, which are known to be mean and to spit, but llamas in pictures are soooooo cute. (Or alpacas. Both are cute.)
People send me pictures of llamas and llama themed gifts. For Christmas, my daughter gave me a llama coffee mug. Super cute, but my husband thinks I’ll poke an eye out.
In a perfect world, llamas would be purple, like the purple cow, immortalized in the poem by Gelett Burgess.
I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one!
I’ve always loved purple. Growing up as the oldest girl, I got to chose the clothes that my sisters would later wear. I chose purple. My younger sister grew to hate the color. I doubt she has any purple in her wardrobe today.
As a gift, my mother gave us a purple bedroom. Curtains, bed-spreads, and accessories. She used my favorite thing to show love.
It’s important to have a favorite thing. Without it, how would anyone know what to buy me as a gift? My future daughter-in-law quickly figured out that purple things and llamas make me smile. It doesn’t matter if I saw the same cute llama picture last month. Seeing it again can brighten my day.
When my husband selected flowers for his father’s funeral and had no way to choose, he selected a purple arrangement. At least one person (me) would like it. Turns out his sister likes purple too.
One of my sisters loves snowmen. She has more than anyone needs, but at Christmas I buy her another one anyway. Thankfully, as her home filled with snowmen, she decided to collect giraffes, too. Now I buy her giraffe blankets, purses, and statues at every opportunity.
My daughter and her husband are musicians. And, you guessed it. Any gift item, statue, ornament, or picture with music notes or instruments is fair game. Their house will be full of musical paraphernalia, and it will reflect their tastes.
I don’t know about my son. His favorite color is orange.
Seriously? Orange? How did that happen?
As his fiancé planned to replace his worn-out couch, I said, “It could be worse. He could have a brand-new couch and it would be orange.” Perhaps he is secretly a child of the seventies.
He won’t be allowed to select furnishings for their new home. But he will wear the occasional orange T-shirt or Polo.
My point is that it is important to have a few favorite things. Butterflies, puppies, collectible plates, . . . whatever. Tell your friends and loved ones so they can brighten your day.
And if you see a purple llama, send it my way.
