Two nights ago, Miriam was doodling pensively on the whiteboard when she turned to me and asked, "Mama, what color is Sunday to you?"
I asked her what she meant.
She replied, "well, when you think of Sunday, what color is it?"
I guess I am a nerd because my heart instantly thrilled to the thought that my daughter was possibly describing a form of synesthesia. Simply put, synesthesia is when you experience one sense in two ways, like tasting colors. From what Miriam told me, it sounds like days of the week are certain colors to her. Here's what she described:
Sunday - yellow or light blue
Monday - pink
Tuesday - red
Wednesday - dark blue
Thursday - orange
Friday - "Friday is hard to describe. It's not really any color, but if I had to say, I would say green."
Saturday - white
I realize that it's entirely possible that Miriam might have just sat down one day and decided that the days of the week are a certain color. Eight-year-old girls do that kind of thing sometimes. But until further notice, this is synesthesia and it's the coolest thing ever.
I think many of us have some form of synesthesia, even if we don't know it. When I heard about synesthesia a few years ago, I realized that I do something weird when I think of the progression of the months of the year. To me, in my mind, a year looks like this:
Is that what a year looks like to you? Do you have another synesthesia-like thing that you do?
I asked her what she meant.
She replied, "well, when you think of Sunday, what color is it?"
I guess I am a nerd because my heart instantly thrilled to the thought that my daughter was possibly describing a form of synesthesia. Simply put, synesthesia is when you experience one sense in two ways, like tasting colors. From what Miriam told me, it sounds like days of the week are certain colors to her. Here's what she described:
Sunday - yellow or light blue
Monday - pink
Tuesday - red
Wednesday - dark blue
Thursday - orange
Friday - "Friday is hard to describe. It's not really any color, but if I had to say, I would say green."
Saturday - white
I realize that it's entirely possible that Miriam might have just sat down one day and decided that the days of the week are a certain color. Eight-year-old girls do that kind of thing sometimes. But until further notice, this is synesthesia and it's the coolest thing ever.
I think many of us have some form of synesthesia, even if we don't know it. When I heard about synesthesia a few years ago, I realized that I do something weird when I think of the progression of the months of the year. To me, in my mind, a year looks like this:
Is that what a year looks like to you? Do you have another synesthesia-like thing that you do?