The Colors of Kindness

During the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020- May 2023), the word KINDNESS began popping up everywhere. One of my favorite places was the Kindness 101 segments on TV. They were a welcome respite from our isolation and lifted morale across our homes. CBS's Steve Hartman and his children hosted KINDNESS 101, a series of classes featuring inspiring stories of people being kind. You can read more about them here. (These are great things to share with your kids.)

Here is one of my favorites: "Don't forget to show love."

During the same period, Crayola heard from parents wanting to teach their children additional social-emotional skills, particularly kindness. So, in 2021, Crayola introduced "The Colors of Kindness" crayons, colored pencils, and markers. The box included 20 pre-existing Crayola colors and added four new ones, "specially labeled with warm words to inspire smiles and happy thoughts."

They featured inspirational messages of kindness like:

• Kind to the Core  for the color "Granny Smith"

• Keep moving forward for the color "Inchworm."

• Be sweet to each other for the color "Cotton Candy"

  
  

You can buy a set of kindness posters here.

Look at these lovely colors! Don't they make you happy?

It was hard to choose.... but these are the colors I chose for this week's poems:

• Pink Sherbert- Have a Scoop of Fun

• Oatmeal- A Warm Hug

• Macaroni and Cheese- Life is Gouda

It's Poetry Time!

Pink Sherbert- Have a Scoop of Fun

This first poem was inspired by the true story of my father driving the family to Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors Ice Cream Shop one very hot summer evening for ice cream. I will never forget the warmth of the breeze in my hair and the feeling of being a bit naughty because I was in my pajamas.

Oatmeal- A Warm Hug

To this day, there is nothing I like better than a warm, creamy cup of oatmeal on a snowy winter day. Recently, when 24" was expected, I found myself, nose pressed against the cold glass, watching the snowflakes dance. Memories poured back of snow fights with my brother, wet mittens, cold pink cheeks, and frozen toes, as I sat pulling off my boots.

Good times ...

Macaroni and Cheese- Life is Gouda

Writing about my grandchildren's meal of choice was a no-brainer when I saw the name of this crayon color. I looked up any words that rhymed with "cheese."Then, since the refrain in this poem almost wants you to sing it, getting the beat (meter) right on the other lines was important to me. I think both kids and kids at heart have fond memories of this dish and will have fun with this poem—we just need a little beatboxing background!

Thank you to Susan at her blog Chicken Spaghetti for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Be sure to stop by and see the other great poems linked on her blog. If you'd like to know more about Poetry Friday, this is a great resource from Renee LaTulippe.

The Color of Love

Color + Love.... Hmmmm, I wonder what I can do with this?

It sure has been fun working on this series of poems inspired by COLOR. I honestly cannot wait to sit down each morning and work on them. Sometimes I wake up at 5:30 am staring at the ceiling, my mind swirling with colors and ideas.

With  Valentine's Day on the calendar this week, I looked over my spreadsheet of color names and wondered which crayons would inspire me and which might go together on the theme of LOVE.

Here are the Crayola Crayon colors I chose for this week:

• Carnation Pink

• Sepia

• Vermillion

• Carnation Pink

This first poem was inspired by the time my daughter and I handed out 50 red roses to random strangers in front of Shaw's to honor my brother's 50th birthday. It is my first stab at a Pantoum. I love how the pantoum's repetition drives home the poem's emotion. For you Pantoum pros- would love your feedback so I can learn.

The pantoum is a poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first. - Poets.org

This is the format I used:

(FYI- Nǎi Nǎi means grandmother in Mandarin Chinese)

• Sepia

  
  

My next poem was inspired by my Nana, Gertrude, whom I adored. She was a very talented artist in her own right (watercolor, pastels, photography), never had a wrinkle on her face, and always smelled of Sweetheart brand soap. While researching on Ancestry.com, I came across a photo of the home in Illinois where she grew up. Looking at the house, I tried to imagine her there. Her watercolor painting of yellow roses hangs in my home.

• Vermillion 

This final poem was inspired by an image I found on the Library of Congress—a great resource for unique photos and public-domain art. Look at that hair up in a French twist... You can almost feel how soft it is. Lovely!

I started off loving the sound of "million vermilion" and decided to give myself the challenge of using words that rhymed with "million" as internal rhyme, and then ending the lines with words that sounded like "roses." Quite a puzzle! It's not perfect, but still fun to read.

Finally,

Wishing my husband of 45 years a very Happy Valentine's Day. I am so blessed to be his wife. xo

One of my favorite pics of us.

Thank you to Robyn Black at her blog "Life on the Deckle Edge" for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Be sure to stop by and see the other great poems linked on her blog. If you'd like to know more about Poetry Friday, this is a great resource from Renee LaTulippe.

Looking Up

I have always been fascinated by the sky- its deep blues on cool fall days,

Lake Winthrop, Holliston, MA ©Cathy Stenquist

the incredible colors that sunrise and sunset can bring,

Yarmouth, MA. ©Cathy Stenquist

and the mystery of a moon-lit evening sky.

©Cathy Stenquist

I'm not too keen on flying, but what makes air travel so appealing to me is being above the clouds and seeing them from a new perspective. I am filled with gratitude for this life and the beauty God has created.

©Cathy Stenquist

This week, the three crayon colors that caught my eye all had to do with the sky:

• Sky Blue

• Outer Space

• Silver

Hope you enjoy them!

Thank you to Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Be sure to stop in to read her lovely poems inspired by Wendell Berry's "Like Snow." It's amazing how you can take a poem and substitute a few words and come up with something so lovely. Going to have to try that!