WATERCOLOR 101

One rainy day last week, Jane (3) was in an artistic mood and asked if she could paint. Her brother George (now almost 2) enthusiastically climbed up into his high chair so he could join in the fun, too! Out came paper, two sets of watercolors, a variety of brushes, and two tiny containers of water. With kids' music playing in the background, we were ready to PAINT!!

Jane immediately set to work, carefully dipping her brush in her green paint and filling the whole sheet of white paper with a lovely shade of emerald. Once the first paper was filled, she gently laid it aside and proceeded to fill her second page with more green.

George, on the other hand, had quite a different approach! Right away, he plunged his little hand into the water, and then coated his fingers with a rainbow of colors. After dabbing them all over his paper, he wiped them on his arms, face, and my arm too, just for good measure. Taking a paint brush in each fist, he pounced them randomly (and with great glee!) in the paint, all over the paper, and then on the tabletop as well. Of course, he had to taste the paint, happily sticking each brush in his mouth over and over, 'til he had a very colorful smile! For George, it was all about the TOTAL painting experience!!


Thank you, Lord, for these two little ones! They teach me so much each day about creativity and joy!!

WET PAINT

After living in our old house for almost twenty years, it finally seemed time this summer to tackle the job of painting our dining room & hallway. The paint on the windows was chipped & peeling. The walls had turned a dingy shade of off-white. The stencil I'd painted near the ceiling many years ago was definitely looking dated. Without a doubt, these rooms were long overdue for an extreme makeover!!

And so, with great enthusiasm & determination at the beginning of July, I threw myself into the task of bringing color to our ho-hum walls...

The first job was to find a color that both Joe & I could agree on. He wanted something light; I wanted something dark. After many trips to the paint store (and after rejecting many paint samples!), we finally compromised on a soft, mossy green with bright white trim.

Joe & I make a great painting team!! -- he likes to roll the ceilings & walls, and I like to do the edges & trim. We're both picky about the end results, & are willing to take the time to do the job right. And, as it's turned out, July is about to turn into August, & we are still painting. But, that's OK...

Using only a few gallons of paint (and a whole lot of elbow grease!) our aging dining room has undergone a wonderful transformation! The colors actually flow between the living room & the dining room. The ugly, old windows now "pop" as they show off their fresh coat of white paint against the colored walls. Our antique piano (trash to Joe & a treasure to me) looks quite distinguished against the green backdrop, in spite of its dings & imperfections. Altogether, things are looking warm & welcoming -- clean, casual, friendly & contemporary.

Joe & I will never claim to be members of "Generation Renovation" -- far from it!! But, I have to admit, it does feel good to have brought some new life back to This Old House!

PRESCHOOL DAYS

Jane goes to preschool today. She has LOVED it from the very first day! Most mornings, she takes me by the hand & leads me down the hallway to her classroom to see "Miss Jeannie" & "Miss Cathy." Without any hesitation, she gets right down to the business of being a two year old -- playing! No clinginess. No tears. No "I want my Mommy!" She has "cooking" to do in the plastic kitchen, legos to build, and puzzles to do...

More than that, she has friends to hang out with -- Jesse & Andrew & Lucy & Jonah. Each child is so unique, & Jane seems to love them all equally well. When I ask her on the way to school who she's going to play with, she happily recites the litany of all her friends' names -- in no particular order. She is glad to see them all!

School has provided Jane with lots of new opportunities; but by far her favorites have been playing on the playground & painting.

On sunny days, Jane's class spends lots of time swinging & sliding & climbing on the pint-sized play equipment. Jane loves the little cars that she can "drive." Here, I can see that Jane is learning to take turns & share -- big lessons for a little girl!

Last Tuesday when I came to pick Jane up from school, she proudly showed me an ENORMOUS picture she'd made that day. It had red scribbles all over it and a big blotch of yellow paint in the corner. "The sun!!" she told me with a big grin. A preschool masterpiece from a tiny Picasso!

I get so much joy from being with these little ones, Lord! It's so surprising to me that, at 50 years old with my own children grown up, I get to enjoy the sweet, simple moments of preschool again. What a gift to me!...

I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

Written 5/4/06