Time Travel Through Chapstick

I was digging through my night stand drawer last night, looking for post-it notes. (It is vital to keep post-it notes in your night stand drawer in case you need to mark a page in a magazine that tells you how to get the perfect smoky eye make-up or something of equal importance.) While I was digging, I came across something even better: Cherry Flavored Chapstick.

The fragrance of it took me right back to grade school, when the fear of getting in trouble for wearing tinted lip gloss to class (Catholic School) forced me to the safe, color-free alternative of Chapstick. The combination of the color, smell and taste of it, reminded me of the innocence of being 13 years old again.

Thirteen was before I cared how many calories were in an item of food and before I paid attention to numbers on a scale. Thirteen was before I had to seek assistance from Clairol to cover my "persistent grays". Thirteen was when my primary responsibility for the summer was to get a tan.

Finding the Cherry Chapstick put me in a good comfort zone before falling asleep.

I also think I've discovered the root of my obsession with drug-store cosmetics.