I don't like red. If you asked me what my favorite color is, I would not say red. If you asked me to list my top 5, it still wouldn't come up. If I think about it as an entity - a field of red - I have to turn away (please don't even say red plaid). I don't like the red splotches my skin gets when I am nervous or angry or have a glass of wine. If I bought a house and it was red, I would paint it right away. I would never choose to own a red car (though the fact is, through no fault of my own, for many years I did own a rickety but reliable red car and I would often hope no one would see me getting into it and make red car assumptions about me). People who like red are not people like me.
But, it turns out, red and I have a pretty groovy relationship. When I put on my long red quilted coat, I feel like it's a good day. I would spend a week's pay on the perfect pair of red shoes. I'll eat a Swedish fish even if it has lint from my pocket on it. Haribo gummi bears? I always save the red bears for last. The shortest pencil of all my pencils? The red one. The cover of my agenda book, also red. My two favorite holidays - Christmas and Valentine's Day - have a strong streak of red. I've worn the same red Adidas Gazelles since 1999. Sometimes a red plate is the only one that will do, especially if sugar cookies are involved. Despite their epic fail this season, I am glad the Red Sox are my home town team. I love the sight of red berries on an otherwise bare branch. If the stripes on my shirt are not blue, they are red. What can't you do if you've got a red Swiss army knife on hand? And, let's face it, stop signs have got it all over yield.
So, actually, I totally love red. My life would be bleak without it. I want to publicly apologize to red for not putting it on my list of favorite colors before today. Red thank you for cheering me up so many times! You totally rock.
What, or who, do you love but you've been too stuck in your ways to admit it?
