Red is one of my favorite colors. It’s bright, expressive, full of energy, looks good on me and generally makes me feel happy. I even wore red shoes with my wedding dress!
But there have been two occasions in my life when red hasn’t made me so happy. Once “it” happened when I was 5 and again, like a bad dream, “it” happened again today.
“It” is what happens when a child, about the age of 2 gets ahold of a marker and creates a masterpiece on something other than paper. I vividly remember (probably because my parents still tell the stories of it) the day my twin brothers, 3 years younger, found markers that I probably left out, and decorated my bedroom wall. I cried myself to sleep that night, staring at the mural, convinced my beautiful room would never be the same again.
And then “it” happened again. I’ve known since that childhood incident that kids and markers are a bad combination. I was careful with my oldest to be sure that markers were never used without adult supervision. But then, as is the case with second children, I loosened up, gained some perspective and realized, indeed, I cannot control everything. That, and the combination of living in boxes after the moving meant that some markers were left lying out, unattended, in the process of unpacking. That’s when little hands gained unsupervised access and the masterpiece created.
I was just two steps away, doing dishes when it suddenly became much too quiet. So I asked my two-year-old in the adjacent room what she was doing. She replied, “colo-wing.” The memories all came back. Except this time I wasn’t five and it wasn’t my brothers.
It was my daughter, coloring with red sharpie on my wall, floor and couch. She was so proud and I was in shock.
A fast Google search turned up the best way to remove sharpie from upholstery and I quickly got to work – attacking the couch first. Success! It came out and I was so relieved. But then I stopped. I left the walls and carpet since we’re eventfully taking down the wallpaper and removing the carpet anyway. It didn’t quite seem worth the time, energy or stress.
So for now “it” serves as a reminder that red is my favorite color. It’s bright, expressive and energetic – just some of the things I want for my daughter.
I try to smile when I see her work and remind myself to always fuel her spirit – maybe not with red Sharpie – but to give her space to find her creative side, to be bright, expressive and energetic as she grows and discovers who she is becoming.
How do you fuel your kids, build them up to be everything they are called to be in this short life?