Watercolors

While helping my parents sort through the tangle of their belongings in preparation for a move, we came across the set of watercolors pictured above. They were given to me for Christmas when I was around 7.

At that age, I loved to draw. Someone noticed and tried to give me the tools to develop my creativity. I treasured those little tubes, but I didn’t want to use them up and not have them any more. So I kept them safe. And they dried up.

I discovered their useless state when I was 19; I abandoned them at my parents’ house when I left for college later that year. It took time, but I did learn the lesson that in saving something for too long, we risk losing it. Thrift and caution are not always good.

I never had the pleasure of squeezing those bright pigments onto an artist’s palette and seeing them blend under the soft bristles of a sable brush. I have other watercolors now. I don’t use them often for other reasons, but I think I will get them out and see what develops.