Keep or toss? I
ask myself that question most often not about important bank statements,
day-too-old leftovers or clothing I haven’t touched since the (first)
Bush Administration, but about my daughter’s artwork. As a result, the art on the walls of my home rivals only the
funkiest of modern art museums when it comes to the need for title placards.
 |
| Isla said, "this a gingerbread house, but the dot isn't mine". Three days later she said, "it's a lion... and a frog". |
Lately I have been trying to examine why I hold onto so many
of their doodles. Is it because
I’m worried that my two baby girls are growing up so quickly that I am trying
to preserve all that I can from their childhood, or maybe because I’ve got a
sneaking suspicion that I gave birth to a mini Jackson Pollack? Really, it’s neither.
I do not believe that the complete story of one’s life can
be told from elementary school or adolescence forward. So much of who we are is determined
long before we step foot onto the kindergarten playground and I want to help
document that growth as much as possible for my children, much like my own mother
did for me.
This is a family portrait that I drew in kindergarten, hung
in my mother’s home beside similar portraits drawn by my siblings.
I don’t remember coloring the masterpiece, but whenever I
look at it, I am reminded of a much simpler time in my life. I am reminded of the innocence, peace
and joy of my childhood, and long for the time when so much could be expressed
perfectly with one sweep of a red Crayola crayon.
Open up a box of 64 Crayola crayons today, and the result
would be quite different. Tickle
Me Pink, Razzle Dazzle Rose and Fuzzy Wuzzy are just a few of the options our
children have to choose from these days.
And while I can fully appreciate the myriad of choices available to this
generation that weren’t available to mine, part of me also wishes for them a
time when life wasn’t so “colorful”.
As my 3 year old made quite clear with her piece shown
above, sometimes the most beautiful things in life are monochromatic.
