Blueberry Eyes

Gardens are the gifts that give back. We planted one blueberry bush and it's paying back generously. I missed strawberry season, but no way am I missing blueberry season. If blueberries didn't cost $4.99 a pint, I would sit down and eat an entire container in one serving. Alas, I know my family would not appreciate it, and considering I can't yet drive, I would be left without blueberries until the next shopping trip. So, I must ration the blueberries and restrain myself to a small handful sprinkled over my oatmeal or yogurt. Now that it's blueberry season, though, I can take a more generous serving.

Mom asked Owen (my brother) to pick blueberries today, but I graciously offered to take his place. "Owen should have fun with his friend! No bother, it's my pleasure!"

My blueberry picking strategy: pick two, eat a few. Some of the literal-minded may argue that "a few" refers to "three," but I looked it up on Google and found no proof that "a few" means anything more than "more than two." Therefore, "a few" merely refers to a small amount (interpret "a small amount" however you please). If I were at a blueberry orchard, my strategy would change to "eat until I'm full, and then start filling my basket." Again, however, I must be courteous to my fellow blueberry pickers, for they may not share my same love for blueberries, nor may they have the patience to stay as long as I may like. Then, I might put a 30 minute limit. Either eat until I'm full, or eat until 30 minutes is up...whichever comes first.

All my life, I have been associated with blue. In my school's winter musical, I was "the girl in the blue dress." To the arcade owner's son at the cast party, I was "blue shirt girl." I guess I just love the color blue. The celestial blue in the sky, the blue of the ocean, the blue wildflowers in the garden. Ironically, thinking back, the majority of the boys I've had crushes on have had blue eyes. 

I myself have blue eyes. When I was little, people often said I had "blueberry eyes." One resident at the Assistant Living home I volunteer at commented on my eyes two weeks ago, saying she couldn't focus on what I was saying because my eyes were so blue. ("I mean, they're like, overwhelmingly blue," she exclaimed, as her eyes widened almost fearfully. What I initially took as a compliment, I no longer could be sure.) Maybe I was brainwashed into loving blue and blueberries from a young age. 

People often associate the color blue with sadness and depression. In writing this post, I did a little research about the symbolism of the color blue in hopes of crediting one of my favorite colors and fruit. Below is an excerpt I found about the symbolism of blue:

Blue is the color of the Virgin Mary, and is associated with girls who have similar pure qualities. In addition, it is the color of water and the sea, with all the symbolic references already discussed for that element - that is, blue usually indicates femininity, life, purity, etc., just as water does.

Blue can also symbolize peace, calm, stability, security, loyalty, sky, water, cold, technology, and depression. (http://www.three-musketeers.net/mike/colors.html)

I associate blue with cleansing, calmness, purity. It is one of nature's most natural colors. It takes up the greatest expanse of our color palette. It's refreshing, like that first ocean plunge of the season. 

What color do you associate yourself with? Or, is there a color other people associate you with? If you're not sure, look in your closet. Do you have a lot of one color? Look around your room, look at your school binders and notebook, look at your desktop background. Most likely, you associate yourself with a certain color without even realizing it. We go through our days with our daily routines, we have our preferences, we have all of those quirky habits and tastes and pet peeves that make us who we are, but have we ever stopped to question why? Today as a society, we are so obsessed with the details of other people's lives, but when we stop and examine our own, we may discover something we didn't expect to find. 

Sweet Dreams,

Megan :)

P.S. "Did you notice?" is updated.