Straw Wars

In our house, straws have taken on a life of their own. Especially the yellow ones. Carson has declared yellow to be his favorite color, so naturally, when he does use a straw (which isn’t often), it’s always yellow. But here’s the thing: Camila and I aren’t big fans of yellow straws.

We keep our straws in the fridge because it’s easier for the kids to reach them. Recently, we hit a bit of a straw crisis. Somehow, all the other colors. Orange, red, green…..vanished, leaving us with nothing but yellow straws. Just yellow. They were multiplying in their little red Solo cup home, staring us down every time we opened the fridge.

Even though Calvin, my husband, couldn’t care less what color straw he gets, I just can’t bring myself to give him a yellow one. It feels like I’d be betraying him by picking my least favorite color for him. Kind of like if I broke a sandwich in half and gave him the smaller piece—it just wouldn’t feel right. I feel guilty about not using the yellow straws, but I can’t pinpoint why. The color yellow just kind of….. makes me uncomfortable.

So, we reached a breaking point and bought a whole new pack of straws, solving our color crisis…sort of. Now we have a brand-new pack of colorful straws, but those yellow ones still sit there, waiting for someone to pick them up.

They mostly wait for Carson, the only one willing to use them, or for Camila, my little color-coordinator, to grab a cup that matches a yellow straw. I think it’s adorable how she always makes sure her cup and straw match.

So, the yellow straws remain in their Solo cup, cold and forgotten, while the new straws get all the attention. Maybe one day, their time to shine will come. But until then, they’ll just have to wait for someone brave enough to give them a chance; even if that someone isn’t me.