A few months back, my husband and I purchased a white leather sofa set that was absolutely gorgeous and placed it in our formal living room.
After a mere three weeks of admiring these pieces, I noticed red ink smiley faces eloquently drawn on different spots of the larger sofa. As you can imagine, my face must have been as red as the ink!
I immediately went to the source - my 4 year old, Shauney.
She looked downward as she explained she found the red pen and just couldn't help but make these beautiful smiles on the blank slate she had before her and simply couldn't resist.
Thankfully, the ink came out, and now you can hear my 4 year old recite the happenings of that day. "When I have a pen in my hand, I must think - what am I going to do, and use only paper for ink pens, just put it down." Over and over she will repeat this as she tells the story of that Saturday morning.
Today, a few months later, I can chuckle a bit as I realize the temptation this huge white blank slate must have presented to my precious child and it has prompted me to reflect upon some of the things that these kids have gotten into over the years.
They've all made an imprint in my memories some of which I am sure they prefer to forget.
Let's start with my oldest, Samantha. She was cleaning her room to help Mommy and couldn't have been more than 5 or 6, if that, at the time. She dusted the entire bedroom with baby powder. In her defense she had good intentions. I mean, makes sense to me, after all, you put on baby powder after cleaning yourself in a shower, right?
Charles, my 16 year old. As I hopped in the shower, he managed to get into the Hershey's syrup and squirted it on the living room pale gray carpet when he was just a wee tot. To this day, neither of us can figure out why he did this.
Aleigha, my 13 year old. One summer day while I was at work, she went to play with my mother-in-law's neighbor. She was probably around age 6 or so. I received a nervous telephone call from my mother-in-law stating that Aleigha's friend seemed to think she could give Aleigha a little hair cut. Her bangs were mostly gone. When I arrived home from work that day, Aleigha was excited because she felt she had the look of the new Willlie Wonka.
So, she loved her new look.
No big deal...I mean, after all, at age 4 she wore a band aid in the center of her forehead as she simulated the look of the pop artist Nelly that year! Remember that?
I am a bit perturbed as they always seem to find that few minutes as a window of opportunity to prepare these surprises for me.
I've thought of so many things I could have written and submitted to the Reader's Digest section Laughter is the Best Medicine.
Translating is a fun job too.
Shauney will tell the big kids - stop coughing me. Translated, stop copying me.
Charles fell to the ground in his full Steelers uniform one Sunday as his hero, Tommy Maddox, was seriously injured on the field, giving way to the beginning of a very successful career for Ben Roethlisberger. But, he could onlysee the end for Tommy and shouted, "I hate Ben Roffwisberger." That's right - said it just how I spelled it here.
Years ago, my husband had an office in our house and almost daily, the Fed Ex man would come with a package. This day in particular, he had signed for his package noticing he still had on the nail polish he let Aleigha put on him the evening before. What a good man he is -- Hopefully, the Fed Ex man didn't really notice!
So, many stories, so much fun. Looking back, I wouldn't change any of it. Somehow, someway, it works out. All is well!
If you have a story to make us chuckle, share it, after all laughter is the best medicine and children can make the grumpiest of them all smile.
;)
