I finished a blanket and writing up a pattern but I’ll show you on Friday and I am already working on a new beach/market tote.  But this week I am doing something totally different.

My biggest WIP is my little girl.  It is a huge project raising a child.  One that is sometimes messy but always rewarding.  My mother sent my daughter a lovely gift, an art set.  And in that art set was paint and a brush. You see, I had made it quite clear that paint was not welcome in our home, because I could only imagine the amount of cleaning up I would have to do after a little art session. And what started out as a very neat painting adventure turned into finger panting (and shoulder painting too).  She started out by using the brush, then I gave her an old eraser to try out some stamping and then she decided that her fingers were the best instrument.  She does a lot of painting, finger painting and printing at her Montessori nursery, so she was right at home with the material.

I got out the extra paint brush I had and she started bossing me around and instructing me on which colors to use and where to paint what.  Like a very good and obedient mother I humored her till the very end.

It was fun.  We do lots of crafting together.  We build forts and take them down.  We make shadow puppets and pretend we are airplanes.  And her favorite activity of all, jumping on the bed to the sound of the alarm clock.   Yes it is exhausting, yes I had to clean up after the mess, but I had just as much fun making the mess as she did.

We need to play with children as much as they need to play with us.  We need to become small and sit on the floor and let go and pretend to be 3 and a half again every once in a while.