A Green Person

"I'm not much of a green person."  I overheard somebody say just that earlier this week and I had a little silent chuckle to myself because I know I've said this before, too.  Immediately the image that comes to mind is the one of the little green aliens one always sees depicted with a big old head and oversized oval eyes and spindly arms and legs and long boney fingers.  So, no, I'm not much of a green person.

I don't dress in green either.  I have one green garment hanging in my closet - a scarf that I wear every year with black pants and sweater on Saint Patty's Day.  It isn't that I look so bad in green - I always get compliments in March when I wear that scarf.  So, I guess it is probably a fairly flattering color for me to wear.  I just tend to gravitate more toward the reds and blues of things - clothing, home decor, dishes, etc. 

I realized this afternoon that I really probably am a green person.  When I got home from school I started dinner and took my book out to the deck to read a few pages.  (I've been falling asleep when I am reading it lately but that is no reflection on the book.  It really is one of the better books I've read.  I'll write about it another day soon.)  I found myself pausing with this book and thinking about what it was saying to me - it is really a good book.  When I'd pause, I took some time to look around and take in my surroundings.  This is truly justifiable because the author was listing things she was thankful for and her surroundings were things she was mentioning.  So, truly I was just following the inspiration of the book. 

I noticed the rich green color of the grass around me today.  It is a pure green and not faded with scorching from a too-hot summer sun.  It is not yellowed with pollen or dust because we just got a nice rain yesterday.  It was just a pure clear green color.  I also noticed that the leaves are starting to wiggle out onto the branches of the trees and they are a fresh, new, tender green color.  Of course, the shrubbery and the cedar trees added demension with their deep hunter hues.  Then, I began noticing how the brilliant fuchia of the redbuds popped out from the green background.  I also smiled at the cheerful yellows and rich purples of the pansies in my pots as they were framed by the grass of the lawn beyond. 

The long, tapering, tongue-like leaves of the irises were jutting up and their silvery edges gave another texture and demension of color.  I came to the conclusion that I have sort of grown into being a green person.  I love the freshness of spring and the different shades of green serve as a neutral backdrop for all the other cheerful colors where the earth is coming to life and shaking off the grey dimness of a winter nap. 

I guess being a green person is something that one just sort of grows into - naturally.