Who likes beige, anyway?

A new house means new checks. I can’t, after all, use checks that have the wrong address on them. Plus, I like buying new checks. I have no idea why, but I do.

The funny thing of the whole “new checks” thing is that I just used my last starter check — from a bank account that I opened up about six months ago. I think I use an average of one check per month. So, in truth, these aren’t new checks, per se. It’s more like I’m finally getting around to ordering checks.

I think the checks people use say a lot about them.

Some people are very standard — upright citizen types. They order the parchment or executive checks. Those checks say very loudly, “I’m an adult and there is nothing fun about writing a check.”

Other people go out of their way to bring attention to their checks. They might have sports logos on them or flashy cars. Hello Kitty also comes to mind in this category. That kitty sure has staying power, doesn’t she?

Personally, I like the happy medium. I like colors and shapes. Maybe polka dots. Maybe plaid. If I’m feeling daring, wavy lines. My last checks were pink. I’m not kidding. Pink polka dots and plaid. My daughters made fun of me for my pink checks. But I didn’t get them for them. I got them for me.

Several years ago, we painted the girls rooms. We let them pick the colors, if I recall correctly. The Big One chose purple and the Little One chose pink. Guess who hates purple and pink now?

When we lived in Tonawanda, the girls shared a room. With sharing came a necessary compromise on paint color. If I recall correctly, Big One wanted lime green and Little One wanted orange. The compromise was blue — a very vibrant blue. Personally, I like it. My old landlord, on the other hand, does not. She wants it back to beige, along with the rest of the rooms in the house. She has this theory that the new tenants will want the house to be beige. I bet she has parchment checks.

I’ve painted every apartment I’ve ever lived in, primarily because I can’t stand beige. The Tonawanda apartment had a yellow bathroom, a gold dining room, a blue kitchen and a green living room. They’re all going to be beige now. Beige is really just gray with a hint of brown.

We haven’t picked colors for the new apartment yet. But the girls each have their own rooms here. I’m kind of hoping that they don’t pick the lime green and orange that they each wanted in the last house. I’m certain, however, that they won’t pick pink or purple — or beige.

Of course, even beige is better than the wallpaper in my new kitchen. But that’s another story for another day.