Body Art

Since Keilana was an only child until age five, she had to be really creative when it came to the blame game. Being the only small person around doesn’t bode well when something gets broken or spilled or drawn on. Especially drawn on. Big people sometimes do those other things, but they rarely go crazy with the Magic Markers. One day I found two year-old Keilana completely covered head-to-toe with ink. When I demanded to know why she had colored all over herself, she said that she hadn’t. When I got my best indignant mother voice going and asked if she didn’t draw on herself who did, she pointed at my mom’s dog and said, “Rary did it.” The dog? The dog used its non-opposable-thumb-having paws to color all over the toddler? Sure. I have discovered over the years that my attitude toward body art is flexible. With Scarlett being in color-on-everything-even-herself mode, I am back where unfettered marker use is not allowed. We’ve laid down the rule for Scarlett: only on paper, not your body. One evening she was trying to be good, but her resolve waned and the skin decorating started. When I took the pens away, instead of throwing a fit, Scarlett came over, pointed to my ankle tattoo, and said, “Only on paper!” Busted. Every parent thinks their child is a genius, but mine is an evil genius. In Robert Munsch’s Purple, Green and Yellow, another diabolical little girl gets her marker-art on. Lord, help us.

http://www.amazon.com/Purple-Yellow-Annikins-Robert-Munsch/dp/1554511135

http://robertmunsch.com/purple-green-and-yellow/

Personality Plus

My daughter had purple hair for awhile. And we’re not talking about a subtle eggplant with highlights designed to catch the sun. Oh, no. I mean Easter egg in overdrive electric lavender. You couldn’t miss her. It sounds a bit odd, I admit, but if any person was meant to have doesn’t-occur-in-nature neon purple hair, it was this girl. She was stunning and unforgettable, then and even now with the color of hair God and genetics gave her. But she still stands out and always has. Part of it is that she is taller than most men she is not related to with arresting blue eyes, but more of it has to do with her actual presence. She seems to bring more to a room than most people, with too much personality for plain, too unique for usual. She leaves the house in get-ups that would get other people laughed off the street, but owns them so completely that it makes the world notice and admire. I have always admired her, too. Well, admiration mixed with a little envy--I’d love to be interesting enough to wear purple hair or fishnets and a cut up bridesmaid’s dress to the Farmer’s Market. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. In Robert Munsch’s Smelly Socks, one little girl with a big personality wants the socks she wears day after day to reflect her authentic self. I’m a crazy socks girl trapped in a plain socks body…but at least I helped Keilana escape the ordinary.

http://www.amazon.com/Smelly-Socks-Robert-Munsch/dp/043964948X

http://robertmunsch.com/