“Mommy,” Lily tells me, “I drew a beautiful picture on the wall to show everyone what a good artist I am.”
Sure enough, she did draw a beautiful picture on the wall. AAAAAAAH! I have been telling her since she was old enough to hold a crayon that we only draw on paper. She has NEVER (never say never or always) drawn on the walls, or furniture, or in books before. I was so proud of her when I would see books from the library that some unruly kid had scribbled all over, or furniture at a garage sale with crayon marks on the side. My kid never drew on anything she wasn’t supposed to. That sure came back to bite me in the butt.
Ever since I became a parent, I have learned that as soon as I have something figured out, it changes. I’m also learning not to yell. It doesn’t work. I always feel horrible after I yell. And I would have woken up the baby, who was napping.
Before the cleaning supplies came out of the closet, I really wanted to take a picture of the wall. It really was a cute drawing! Plus, wouldn’t it have looked great in this post? But if Lily saw me with the camera, would she draw on the wall again? The last thing I need is more cleaning to do!
Lily just cried and cried when I washed her drawing off the wall. That was almost punishment enough. She was serious about showing people her artwork. I’d like to get some butcher paper and tape it to the wall for a mural backdrop. I love that Lily spends hours drawing, coloring, and cutting paper. The second part of her punishment was telling her if she ever drew on the wall again, I would take her crayons away. I’d hate to have to follow through.
I’m almost positive she’ll come home someday with a tattoo. (Wait a minute, need to go into denial phase…my little girl will always be my sweet, little Lily!)