Color Outside the Lines…

People are always reminding us. Color Outside of the Lines. Live with whimsy. Think outside the box.

credit: Mary Anne Radmacher

From Pinterest to Facebook, I see people reminding themselves daily. To stretch themselves. To leave their comfort zone. Now, that all sounds lovely, right? Idyllic, perhaps.

And then. Someone colors outside the lines.

with a pink sharpie.

on your blinds. on your door.

on your wall. on your headboard.

on your finials. on your reading light.

on your oh-so-clean nightstand. on your sheets.

and of course, on your comforter, pillow shams, and a few pieces of {ahem, white} clothing.

and contrary to ehow, et al., neither this…

nor this…

really work to remove a young artists’ masterpiece.

and while Mr. Magic Eraser helped the maimed and wounded wood,

nothing else could be spared of the artistic wonders on our walls, blinds, comforter, sheets, and clothing.

Now. To address the most common questions.

No. I had not run an errand and left my child with a Sharpie in hand for 30 minutes. I was cooking dinner. Adam was holding Jonah and taking a phone call. {That’s what I get for cooking}.

No. I do not have Sharpie’s just strewn about. I currently have the most disorganized house in the U.S. of A. and have, in fact, been searching for my Sharpies for months. I have no doubt our little Picasso had been stowing his find away for just the perfect moment.

No. We didn’t send him to the hole. We were both so flabbergasted. We did timeout. Bedtime books and songs were taken away for a week. And we also took away “shows” for three days.

No. He had no clue what he had done was wrong. Apparently being told {after drawing with pen on the couch 2 months prior} that it is never okay to draw, color, etc. on other people’s things did not make any impression on our often trying toddler. Instead, he came out of the bedroom after about 5 minutes and exclaimed with a smile from ear to ear… “Daddy! Come see what I drawed”.

So. The next time you proclaim, “Color Outside the Lines”, perhaps you ought to provide a disclaimer. And perhaps you ought to lock up your Sharpie.