Is This You? Choosing favorites

Out of the blue I asked my other half what his favorite candy bar is. He knew immediately what made his mouth water. I, on the other hand, still haven’t decided what mine is. Why can’t I be as quick and decisive as he and other people I know are?

Like colors. I like pastels, but not one certain pastel. I also like hunter green which is most definitely not a pastel. Then there are trees. Evergreens or deciduous. I enjoy looking at the green of evergreens in the middle of a cold, snowy winter. But with deciduous trees what about those wonderful fall colors and the shade under a breeze blown leafy tree in the summer? Not sure here what my favorite tree is.

There’s a saying that refers to doing something as if your life depends on it. OK, so I thought I would try that. I tried by starting small, like what is my favorite thing to make for dinner. No that really isn’t a small thing — ask anyone who has had to choose what was for dinner for years and years. Sometimes there just isn’t anything in the favorite column that sounds good, fast, nutritious, and easy for dinner.

There must be something I have a favorite of. Thinking ... thinking ... ah, a purse. I have a favorite purse. Of course, I only have one purse. When I have a purse that gets all ratty and tattered I pitch it, but not until I find a replacement. So at this time the one purse I have is my favorite. More and more though I don’t carry a purse so I don’t think a favorite purse counts toward picking a favorite like picking a favorite from that aforementioned array of candy bars. So I move on.

OK, say there’s a basket full of flowers set out on a counter and I can have a huge bouquet of any one kind. Could I choose one that’s my favorite? Not a problem. I have a favorite flower. Doesn’t everyone? How romantic is it to get a dozen red roses? Pretty nice.

But for this flower girl maybe carnations are my flower of choice. I’m a bit of a tight wad and I know a carnation will outlast any ole rose like 10 to one. So when I get surprised by flowers and I get pretty colorful carnations I know they will last until the cows come home, smell and all. But I can’t grow carnations. My other half grows beautiful gladiolus that makes them his favorite. He can buy them or he can grow them. If I could grow or get carnations they would absolutely be my favorite. While getting them is nice, growing them would be great, too. Picky, picky, picky ... get it? Picky-flowers. Let’s dig some more.

Seems there are ups and downs to favorites. At least the way I look at things. I have been told more than once my thinking process is something unto its own. Or something along those lines. Anyway. I know people who have favorite shirts, shoes, seasons, sayings, suckers, but when I try to pin myself down with just one favorite pickle, person, pie, place or picture, I find there are too many variables to choose from. So if my life depended on it? Could I honestly choose one favorite thing with a straight face? Can I, or you, close off all the choices we have to choose from and pick just one favorite? Really, choose just one chip, chair, cracker, comet, cat? Child? Please don’t choose a favorite child — that’s just wrong on so many levels.

Like that one candy bar he chose without missing a beat? Well, I tried. I saw myself standing in front of a candy counter but instead of picking one favorite I would buy like six and decide over the next several days the one I was stuffing into my pie hole at the time was the one that was my favorite.

When all is said and done I’m pretty sure, though, in fact, if my life depended on it, I would choose tacos as my favorite dinner. I can make some killer tacos. Just have to decide which kind of cheese is the best. Cheddar, Colby, marble, block or pre shredded. And have you seen the array of tortillas to choose from?

Trina lives in Eureka, Nevada. Her book ITY BITS is on Kindle. Share with her at itybytrina@yahoo.com.