The Color Purple: Mom Edition

An artistic mom’s indecisive tendencies take a toll

By Sarah Nelson | Royal Report

Pre-church sleepiness still clung to my eyes as I stood in the dimly lit Lowe’s waiting for my mom, Heidi, to make up her mind. She stared at the two paint samples in her hands. One was purple and the other an absurd, slightly darker shade of purple. I told her multiple times I desired the lighter shade for my room, but she insisted on analyzing each color to satisfy the perfectionistic art student still residing in her. After she turned back to the wall of color samples, I grabbed the light purple paint bucket and hustled to the check-out line, reminded of why I never go shopping with my mother.

My mom takes forever to pick out low-fat or Mega Stuf Oreos at Super Target, picking the size of her Diet Coke in the McDonald’s drive-thru, and choosing which color of tennis shoes she wants at DSW. Her over-analyzing tendencies can drive me and my dad insane. Without her, our shopping trips last three minutes, tops. Recently, I realized her mannerisms keep the rest of the family’s laziness balanced. The world prizes quick decision-makers – they get the job done and save the company time and money. However, each day my mom lives out the beauty in taking a step back and looking at the differences within the purples in our lives.