My Mission Statement

I write to serve, to unite, to educate. I write to share literature and flesh out ideas that may be of interest to others. I write to document an emotion, experience, or a blip in time. My mission is to write in such a way that the reader is reminded that we can find humor in all situations. It's one of the great blessings of life.


Monday, March 23, 2009

Easter Clothes

I took out my sons' Easter clothes and hung them on their closet door last night because they were crammed in their closet and wrinkled. I wanted the wrinkles to fall out a little before I come out of denial and actually iron the shirts. It's just a shirt and sweater vest, nothing fancy, but definitely church wear. So here's the breakfast conversation.

6y0- Why did you put out fancy clothes?
me- For Easter.
6yo- When's Easter? What day?
me- April 12, so you've got a few weeks.
6yo- What day, I mean, like Monday, Tuesday?
me- Oh, Sunday. Remember, it's always on Sunday. We bring flowers and decorate the cross and everything.
6yo- Good. I was going to be too embarassed to wear that to school.
8yo chimes in- Easter? Do I have to wear my tuxedo?
me- No, honey. Besides, you don't have a tuxedo.
6yo- What is a tuxedo?
I DESCRIBE A TUXEDO, LOCATE A PICTURE OF DADDY ON ONE ON THE BOOKCASE, ETC.
6yo- Why is it called a Tuxedo? That word sounds like a truck.
8yo- Yeah, a Tuxedo sounds like a truck. A big truck. Honey, I'm going to haul it in the tuxedo.
6yo- Yeah, tuxedo needs a romantic word for romantic clothes. Like Lovely. They should call it a lovely.
8yo- Or narrow, I like that word.

Hmmmm... so these two boys have renamed trucks and tuxedos. I love it. So I began to think of other words that don't go with the things they describe, but all I can think of is words that are perfect like air, owl, clock (can't you hear the tick tock?), dog, puppy--simple examples. Then I love mesmerizing,vulgar, murmur and countless other onomatopoeic words. But I honestly can't think of any that don't work for me, and I realize something TRAGIC. It's because I'm a grown-up, and I'm so used to these words that I associate them with the thing society has taught me to associate them with. I'm no longer like these precious children who can consider these things in a such a fresh and new way. It's a beautiful thing, really, and I'm sad I've lost it. Can it be recaptured? I don't know. I can't even think of one.

So enjoy your kiddos, notice their fresh take on something today and appreciate it. Honor it. Put on your narrow, take your tuxedo to your favorite spot, and write about it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The boys' conversation is too cute! Walt has just started asking me about words. Is so much fun. I think that's my favorite part about being a mom...seeing the world through a child's eyes again. And then the memory of being there. I remember when Chris taught to spell OK when I was about 3 or 4. I thought I was the coolest kid ever!


Isabel by Donna Jones Koppelman

Isabel by Donna Jones Koppelman

Major Bear at the Grove Park Inn by Donna Jones Koppelman

Major Bear at the Grove Park Inn by Donna Jones Koppelman