Chapstick

Emma loves chapstick. One might say her love for chapstick is borderline obsessive. She loves to talk about different flavors, she loves the anticipation of the next tube and what it will taste like, she loves to stare at all the different chapsticks, choose one, change her mind, choose another, change her mind, think about it again, and then finally settle on a new package of the beloved chapstick.

I should probably admit that she comes from a line of chapstick lovers. Granny has no less than 10 chapsticks in her apartment, every drawer seems to have a tube. My mom has chapstick in every place she might need it. I love chapstick, lip gloss, lipstick, lip balm, all of it. I find it hard to resist those little teaser tubes next to the cash register, I carry no less than 4 different tubes of lip stuff in my purse at a time. I have one just for the car, in just about every purse, in my travel case with my luggage, in our camping gear, next to the bedside table. I think I carry a chapstick gene.

The chapstick love for Emma started during our vacation right before Grant was born. She was almost two and all about being just like me. She saw me put some on one day right before we left, and Hubs indulged her request for some also. It was a hairy experience since she didn't expect the tingly feeling that comes along with mentholatum. She worked through it, and from then on requested chapstick everytime we left the condo. All week long, her lips were soooooo dry and only the blue chapstick from my purse (non-mentho) would help it.

The obsession continued when we got home. She got her own tube of chapstick which she dutifully applied every night before bedtime. She learned the etiquette for applying chapstick - no biting the chapstick off, don't twist it up all the way then cram the lid on, no throwing across the room when you're done applying it. Over time, she used up, or ingested, that tube of chapstick so one day at the store I suggested we buy more.

We made our way to the chapstick section, and it was the chapstick motherlode. I think Emma found the selection a bit overwhelming. She stood there, eyes wide opening, exclaiming over the different colors. We whittled it done to no burny (ie: mentholatum) chapstick, no blue chapstick (which she had just finished, she wanted something new), and no squeeze chapstick (that was my rule). She finally settled on the a three pack of fruity chapsticks.

Emma has taken great joy in the fruity chapsticks. It's three year old utopia around here. She carefully applies it, then rubs her lips together, sniffs it some, licks her lips, and smiles. She enjoyed the grape chapstick first, now she adores the apple chapstick, and she looks forward with great anticipation to the orange cream chapstick that is next. Her dry lips need frequent chapstick applications, and she told me yesterday maybe she should start carrying her chapstick in her purse just like me so she always has it when she wants it. She's curious now about my lip gloss and lipstick, and I know it won't be much longer that those will be for my lips only.