Olive, pine or emerald. The shade doesn't matter much.
Olivia's favorite color has always been green.
She grew up in the Bronx, NY, where there were only small swatches of it to be seen, over too few months of the year. Except when she worked with her father.
Olivia's dad was a Steamfitter by trade, but during those warmer months, he picked up extra work building Greenhouses. Made of iron, steel, wood and glass; in the 1920's, Greenhouses were manufactured in components.
He built them for fortunate people, wishing to possess everlasting summer in their own backyards.
She spent Saturdays working with her father, on tiny parcels of land in the Bronx and Brooklyn. She fetched him tools, while breathing in the smell of moist wood, plants and dirt. Olivia liked getting her hands dirty, and didn't mind the sweat.
And because of him, she came to know the satisfaction of a building trade. She came to know the satisfaction of hard work.
They'd start early, while it was still cool, and eventually share a simple packed lunch out of his metal box. She loved the time with her dad, he always wanted to know about her. In her young mind, she made an unconscious decision that whoever was lucky enough to share her company would need to be as interested in her as her dad was. And so, Olivia loves green. For her, it represents endless possibility and a fresh starts.
The color and the scents she associates it with, remind her of the people and things she'll always love, while she forges ahead to carve out her own bright future.
These days, she's excited to be part of a new woman's movement. And when she chooses to clean up, a mint green satin dress is her first choice.
Olivia appreciates the beautiful gifts that came out of the past, and looks to a future with no more (figurative) glass ceilings for women, everywhere.
Lewis Hine The Steamfitter 1920
Physical glass ceilings, however, are beautiful and welcome to stay, forevermore.
