This was first posted November 21, 2010.
You don’t live long in Wyoming before you find out you NEED chapstick. It’s dry here. Humidity comes and visits, but rarely stays… at least not in the intensity that it exists around other parts of the country. So, there are two things I ALWAYS have in my jeans pocket… my pocketknife and, preferably, Mentholatum’s Natural Ice Lip Protectant. Other kinds don’t satisfy me. Chapstick? yech. Flavored lip gloss… uh, nooooo. Not since seventh grade. If I want cherry, Dr. Pepper, or root beer flavors, I’ll drink Koolaid or have a Dr. Pepper or A&W! Carmex… yeah, if I have to. Blistex is OK too… but I’ll always fall back on Mentholatum. It’s good that I take the photos on this blog… if someone took all the pictures of me, I’m sure 90% of them would have me sticking my tongue out in some weird contortion. I’m one of *those*. The kid my mom would remind again and again… “Get that tongue back in your mouth!” In fact I think she would pat my lips and say something along the lines of “looking like a cow.” Don’t be offended… she didn’t mean it that way. I mean, she did… but it wasn’t said in a mean way! After living on the ranch for a while… I knew exactly what she meant.
And on days like today… I just have to laugh. My lips are chapped. These are the days I know I’ve been intent on something. I do it riding, working my dogs, reading, crafting, and even splitting wood. I crafted a bit for my Friends of the Library wreath we’re making…
and I helped Vernon split some wood this afternoon.
My chapstick was buried under my coveralls for three hours… I can tell. It’s taken me all evening to grease my lips back into respectability. Someday I’ll learn from my mom… and either keep my tongue inside my mouth… or have chapstick stashed EVERYWHERE. After she died, we went through her house, and she had a fingernail file and chapstick tucked away all over her house! Smart woman. How many chapstick days did SHE have?
Find me here!
How things have changed. My daughters and I need our big purse as we now carry: hand sanitizer, face mask, plus a spare – you know, just in case, and antibacterial wipes. And tucked in a corner a lip gloss. In the 50s my Mom wore bright red lipstick, only colour around, not to look good but to keep lips moisturised. Wise lady she was.
My husband used to keep Chapstick in his pocket. It doesn’t go through the wash well!
Going out to find the Mentholatum brand! Three things are in my pockets in the fall and winter: cough drops, tissues, chapstick. My chapstick has failed November in Virginia.