Living with the Color Purple

I was never a fan of the color purple. To me it would bring to mind the color used for ugly jogging suits from the 80’s or that giddy mass of purple felt that entertains young children ( better known as “ Barney”). Then there was that day about 5 years ago that the color purple caught my eye.

Actually, it caught my friend Diane’s eye. My husband and I were in the market for a new home and had been searching with a realtor for months to no avail. One Sunday afternoon, we were driving back from a delightful brunch with Diane and her husband, Vinnie, when we took a turn down a side street not far from where we lived.

Diane yelled “Stop the car! Look at that house!”

My husband slammed on the brakes and we came to a halt in front of a two story colonial. Out on the lawn there was a “For Sale by Owner” sign, but that was not the only thing that demanded our attention. The shutters and the front door were painted purple.

I guess it complimented the grey siding of the home, but it certainly was….ah…purple! Different, I thought! We took the telephone number down and drove off. That night, we called and told the owners that we were interested in taking a look at their home. They invited us over that evening and we were delighted at the inside. It was just what we were looking for and it was in our price range.

“How did you find our home?” they asked. “Well to be honest, our friend noticed your purple shutters and doors as we drove by. Then when we realized it was for sale we had to call.”

We were so thrilled with the house we made an offer then and there. They wanted to sleep on it so they told us they would call us in the morning. We went home that night excited over the house and the color purple. That morning, the owners called us and told us that they would accept our offer. We were ecstatic. After months of searching for the perfect house, we found it practically in our own backyard.

We moved in just weeks later. Friends and family asked us if we were going to paint the shutters and doors another color. “Another color? Why would we want to do that? You have something against purple?!”

Today, I celebrate my home and the color purple by planting flowers out front in different hues of lilac, amethyst and violet. Who knew I would develop a love for lavender?!