The Artist

The children in my daughter's pre-K class were given large pieces of paper with blank "heads" printed on them and were asked to draw a picture of one of their parents.  Below is the picture my daughter drew of me.

Key points of note:

• I do have brown hair in reality, but it is long (way way way too long, cannot wait to chop it off). Not only this, but my daughter is partial to long hair. She drew me with a rockin' pixie 'do that I would love, but I don't have the delicate features to pull it off. My daughter accidentally referring to me as "Daddy" or to my husband as "Mommy" on occasion is taking on a whole new relevance now.
• Damn, I have one heck of a big smile! I knew I was a happy person, but wow. Apparently I need to consider a new profession of "bringer-of-joy."
• My real eyes are brown.  I promise you, I am not a Twilight vampire.
• I assume those are earrings that she drew in my ears.  I do not constantly wear earplugs.  Hm... constantly wear earplugs... interesting idea...
• Also, in reference to the cheek dots and circular blue nose, I do not walk around my house in full clown make-up.  Hm... walk around in full clown make-up... interesting idea...
• And finally:  I'm not entirely certain what those yellow appendages are that are sticking out of my neck. Frankenstein bolts? Rays of sunshine and sweetness? A visual representation of the pleasing ginger aroma emanating from my neck when I wear my favorite scent? Creepy elf arms reaching around to strangle me in my sleep?

Truth be told, I love that she drew me, even though this has brought into stark light that she may need glasses.  Or not.  I like how she sees the world.

Volcanic Panic at Kindergarten

This past week, Bear started Kindergarten. *sigh*  Honestly, I'm not sad or nostalgic or weepy. I don't pine for his toddler years or wish time would stand still. That's not my nature. I'm truly excited for this new phase of my son's life. He loves to learn, and so far, he's thriving already. I'm sighing more from relief that the transition was not only smooth but awesome!

When Bear arrives home each night from the big K, I reach into his backpack and pull out the folder that we parents are required to review. It contains homework (some nights), Bear's daily behavior report and samples of work he's done. Well, after day 2, I opened up the folder and pulled out a sheet of paper with this drawn on it:

I'm not sure what you see in this figure, but I saw a very upset person with spikey brownish blonde hair, arms in the air (curiously without hands), wearing a shaggy blue shirt, no pants and red shoes. Curious as to what this figure was intended to represent, I glanced at the bottom of the page, where this description was written:

At this point, I became perplexed. I still found the lack of hands and pants on the little person vaguely disturbing, but the big frown was what worried me most. I mean, Bear can read. There is not doubt that when he was handed this piece of paper, he knew what he was supposed to draw... and he drew a figure bearing a passing resemblance to himself (my child, however, has hands and wears pants to/at school) sporting a huge frown.

I decided to ask Bear about the drawing. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Me:    Sweetheart, did you draw this picture?
Bear:  Oh, yeah!
Me:    It's really good, honey. Is this person you?
Bear:  Yes.
Me:    I thought so.  Is that your blonde hair and your red sneakers?
Bear:  [looking very pleased] Yes! Exactly!
Me:    Alright then. And, um, so... is this picture supposed to be your first day of Kindergarten?
Bear:  Yes, Mommy, it says so right there at the bottom.
Me:    Right... well, honey, why do you look so upset in this picture? Why are you frowning?
Bear:  [very matter of fact] Because I'm running away from a volcano.
Me:    ... That's a volcano above your head?
Bear:  Of course.
Me:    So on your first day of Kindergarten you had to run away from a volcano?

At this point, my Bear broke into hysterical laughter.

I think I'm going to enjoy Kindergarten.