In the Pink

"In the pink" is an idiom we use when we want to say that someone is "in excellent health, physically and emotionally." Ding--ding--ding! That's me, that's how I'm feeling right now: and I'm happy, happy, happy! For the moment (knock on wood), everyone in my family is healthy and doing well, physically and emotionally. I have a husband I adore, five sons who are all gainfully employed and thriving (the youngest as a college student), a daughter-in-law who is unbelievably wonderful, and two gorgeous twin baby granddaughters who are definitely in the pink; they are, in fact, the very embodiment of that phrase. They are warm, chubby bundles of perfection: pink-cheeked and wide-eyed, cooing and smiling. I give their mommy so much credit for the job she's been doing with them while she awaits the return of my oldest son--it won't be long now!--from his year-long deployment.

I have begun my Christmas shopping, and--this may not surprise you--I find that shopping for two little girls, after a lifetime of shopping only for boys, is a real treat! I have had to reign myself in, because there are just so many cute things in the pink aisles of the toy store--the aisles that I used to cruise longingly, when I had no business being there, before heading for the action figure aisles. Don't get me wrong; I actually enjoyed the Matchbox cars, the trains and trucks, the Lego sets, the Dino Riders, the G.I. Joe's, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Transformers, and most of all, the dinosaurs. (The video games? Not so much, but...) Those are the types of playthings I was used to shopping for, and they were fun for me to buy; because the bottom line is, it's a joy to put anything under the tree that you know is going to thrill your children.

That being said...OH. MY. GOSH! I want to buy every girly thing I see! I have begun my Christmas shopping (a tad late, by my usual standards), and just look at what I've picked up for the girls. A tea set! And baby dolls! Just look at all that pink! I'm in hog heaven right now. I plan to enjoy perusing all the shelves filled with feminine items for years to come, and I'm telling you this: Grammy is going to do her darnedest to keep those two sweetie pies in the pink (or the purple)!