Close to nine o’clock last evening, I was tying up loose ends over here at St. Anne’s, putting away my costume, checking things in chapel, and doing whatever else I had to do after a chaotic afternoon and busy evening.

We had held our annual employee appreciation dinner party and had just recently made it back from the restaurant.

This year, we had decided, in honor of our 65 year in Grand Forks, to have a decades dress up theme, where people were encouraged to come in a fashion from the past, such as a poodle skirt or bell-bottoms.

Though many did not participate, some of us did. Our activity assistant lent me a pink skirt (that even flares when you spin) and her co-worker brought me a “rock & roll” blouse (with a poodle on it) to wear with it.

Along with a pink lace scarf, the outfit was completed with pink nail polish.

By the late evening hour, when I passed by the nurse’s office, I no longer was wearing my ’50s attire. I voiced my regrets that this nurse had not been able to join us (since she had to work). Although I was unable to show her my complete outfit, I still had my nails painted.

In visiting with her, I dubbed them “Pepto-Bismol Pink.”

This morning, as I sit at the reception desk, the nail polish still remains. After filling in as a floor aide before coming to my regular shift, there was no time to even think about getting out the fingernail polish remover from our little beauty shop across the hall.

I guess it’s good to have a little extra color these days when most of us are suffering from the “winter blahs” and are more than ready for spring.