Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Talent



A piece of art that only a mother could love.

The picture above was taken today, my Tinker tried her clever little hand at painting at playgroup today and that was her creation. It was quite an ordeal. The paint, the children, the paint, the children. Have I mentioned the wet paint?

I'm not good with mess as you probably gathered when I confessed to arranging spices in alphabetical order in my pantry so toddler art was really a realm of playgroup that we really shouldn't have entered.

While the other mothers were saying "Oh darling use blue for the sea, blue. Oh how pretty that is just wonderful Johnny" I was also saying those things loudly, or something similarly supportive all the while in my quiet-don't-let-other-parents-hear voice I was saying "ok this white cable knit cardigan is hand wash only sweet lamb lets try not to lean onto the paper as we paint it ok?"

Then we had the ordeal of putting Tinker's wet paint hands into this big tub of murky paint water that all the other little wet paint hands had been in and then drying them on a communal towel. Since I'd made no friends at our new playgroup I managed to bite my tongue and hide my horror and even managed some small talk with another mummy while my talented artiste plunged her precious hands into the grubby paint water abyss. Oh I'm so not cut out for ikky work sans anti-bac gel let me tell you.

Anyway I was then faced with a dilemma. The painting was wet and had to dry before it entered my car let alone my house so we had about 30 minutes to kill while it dried. Being the awesome team-player type that I am, I had timed our playgroup attendance down to the minute so that we would be able to leave before the closing bell where (I'm told) all the uber chipper mummies get together with their kids and tidy up all the toys and activities. So not for me.

So there I stood. Mother of the Year wondering whether to ditch the Tinker's first ever painting because there was no way it would dry before closing bell, or whether I'd be the team player and pitch in with the massive clean up. Hell I could have even started the whole group singing The Wheels On The Bus... It was quite the conundrum. I was torn. Tinks and I distracted ourselves with some time on slide and then we read Possum Magic about 16 times. I checked on the painting and of course it was still wet. All 1 square metre of it...

I was gearing up to go, abandoning her artwork at the centre like a girl child in Yemen when Tinker piped up "painting where are you? painting?" so I gathered her up, proudly reclaimed her stellar artwork from amongst the talentless offerings of the other children and marched to my car. That's the kind of gal I am. Selfless, stoic and totally honourable.

Meanwhile I felt a slight pang of guilt about the clean up but when I got home and discovered some wet teal coloured smudges on the grape Dazzle stroller that lives neatly in my car boot I felt that all was fair in love and war. I spent a good 15 minutes cleaning the paint off my car, Tinker got her painting and I'm sure that Kumbaya type mother who had skipped over earlier to jabber a welcome to my daughter in tragic baby talk had happily done my share of the clean up anyway.

Medal? Anyone want to give me one?

28 comments:

  1. That looks pretty cool!

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  2. Your daughter did a wonderful job! I'm glad that you brought it home with you. I don't have any children, yet, but I could see myself doing the same thing as you here. Maybe next time scope out a bathroom that your daughter can wash her hands in ;) or bring wet baby clothes :)

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  3. you get a medal for this delightful little tale you have shared with us!

    so glad i am not the only one who watches the clock and cuts out of the social gathering as soon as (sometimes before) the clock strikes TIME!

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  4. lady, we don't know 'bout no medal
    . . . but we've moved your blog from the huge once-in-a-blue-moon read-list (literally hundreds) to our favorite blog rotation where you'll share space with a dozen or so blogs we deem MUST-reads.

    there not that many SAHMB's that can perk up a cotidian story, The Un Mom is one funny blog , and of course Momza's House is our life through the looking glass; these we follow with pleasure.

    now there's you.

    boy,
    we can't believe how we read the entire story straight through,
    and still wanted more . . .

    {our Blog-Attention-Span runs at about 160 charcters before we start tearing our bald-spot out (sorry)}

    you are quite the story-teller, then again, you ARE a Lawyer.

    so, welcome to the ranks of the great tale-spinners Barry, Irish Gumbo, and rhymeswithplageand,
    thank you for a satisfying post. :-)

    ..
    .ero

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  5. I don't know what to say...you're so good at weaving your OCD story with "mommy & me" playgroup experience that I was roarin' with laughter as I remembered my first kid's day care days with all the snots and sneezes that can make a sane parent cringe.

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  6. Oh my goodness! You really must be a clean freak! And I'd have to say I'm so opposite! I'd be longing for more socialization before backing back into my cave! So I'd be one of those moms geared up for clean up every time, just for the sake of more conversation! :) I commend you for taking home the wet painting!

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  7. If I already wasn't "Mother of the Year", you certainly would be my inspiration!

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  8. I say surviving play group .Period. deserves a medal! Woo hoo! you go girl, and I am glad you managed to save the work of art. Its beautiful!

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  9. Perhaps you have a budding little artist on your hands .... future presents of oils and watercolours, paint pads and brushes ...

    (not to mention stains on the skirting, under the stair bannister, hardened chunks of oil paint on the living room rug (by the edge of the coffee table leg) and immovable multi-coloured marks all around the sink plug hole..)

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  10. Thanks for the laugh! I'd so be like you I think. I have successfully avoided mothers group meetings because the thought of sitting in a room with other mothers gloating about how fabulous their kids are and "oh my son slept through the night weeks ago!" (cringe, cringe) comments would have been driven me crazy mental (as opposed to the sane mental type).

    I did have a close call though. I visited the clinic nurse right before the mother's group meeting was to start. All the mothers had gathered super early and as I was about to leave the nurse turned to me and said "Why don't you stay for the meeting?". I quickly mumbled something like "I have to go... umm.. go. over there and do stuff.. things and stuff.. thanks okay BYE!".

    I do sometimes wonder if it would have been all that bad though.

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  11. Oh Viv you know I'm a terrible snob. I didn't enjoy mothers group at all. I think it is the luck of the draw, some people get great groups. I just didn't click with mine. There was a huge age gap, some of them made me feel like a teenage mum!

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  12. I don't mesh well in social situations, I suck at surface-type conversations, and that is why we don't belong to a mommy playgroup. I am not a chit-chatter.

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  13. Nice work of art. I understand your dilemma when it comes to touching muck n all. I learn t my lessons the hard way. Once my daughter hit the sand pit, Leave alone all the sand in her hair n eyes, I also had to clean it out of her butt crack! All those who knew me, could not hide their amusement and told me that I deserve it!

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  14. Ahahaha! I don't have kids, but I already know I'll be doing the same in a few years time ;)

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  15. Next time we can teach Tinker how you mush the paint with your hands then give mummy a big cuddle < insert wicked laughter>

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  16. The whole process of playgroup for me is made easier by going with a few good friends and their kids, but the rest of the mums there just seem so... wholesome. And nurturing. And patient, and have so. many. kids. That is just not me. I just go as Oli has fun and I get to chat with my friends while he runs wild for a while during which time the nurturing mothers help him with the painting and crafts :)

    And clean up after him.

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  17. Move over picasso!

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  18. My daughter turns 15 next week and how I wish she was still getting good gear dirty and that I was dealing with murky painting water rather than the rather murky teenage road I am going down now......she is the best kid ever but is getting to the point where things are becoming a curiosity to her and I don't mean what blue and red paint do if they are mixed together......

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  19. What a masterpiece! I would totally frame that and carefully hang it up somewhere as a reminder of the day you survived playgroup.

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  20. you actually thought of leaving her painting?? Her FIRST painting?? SMH> mom of the year indeed.
    But, see, it all worked out with minor minor probs, right? :p

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  21. popped by via NES. we're going to be great friends ;) i can tell already.

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  22. What a piece of modern art! A medal for being stoic and selfless and deciding to bring it home.. Muahs for Tinker (is ir a he/she? and is her/his name actually that.....I'm pretty newbie on your blog)

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  23. HI Ann Dee, welcome! My "Tinker" is a little girl, and nope that isn't her name. Only her nickname!

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  24. how did the new dress hold up with the paint?

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  25. Woodles it is all ok and still in one piece which is surprising given my terrible sewing! I have been working on a pair of PJs for the Tinks this weekend and so far it is looking pretty shoddy I will post pics this week to give you all a laugh. x

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