Monday, April 19, 2010

Those Watercolor Ponies (and other pieces of art)

Fred took the boys on Saturday morning so that I could have some time to clean up from the weekly tornado that blows through this house. He loves doing it. The boys love doing it. And I love when they do it, too! So while they were gone, I was cleaning up Timothy's scraps and muttering the whole time about how he just doesn't see the mess he makes when he's creating something new.

I was also listening to some of my "retro" music (read: Christian contemporary from the 80's) while I was cleaning. I was struck with a deep conviction as I was scraping Timothy's plasticine from the carpet under his chair at the table. He had been busy making a multi-media picture of outer space and parts of the Earth and Mars had fallen on the floor and went undetected in his excitement of creating this masterpiece. So as I was scraping bits and pieces out of the rug, Wayne Watson's song, "Watercolored Ponies" came on and my complaining screeched to a stop. If you've never heard this song and you have little children that drive you nuts sometimes, listen to the link and read the lyrics below. This song always brought tears to my eyes even before I had children, but now that I have my own, it's even more touching to me.


Watercolor Ponies

by Wayne Watson

There are watercolor ponies
On my refrigerater door
And the shape of something
I don't really recognize
Drawn by careful little fingers
And put proudly on display
A reminder to us all
Of how time flies

Seems an endless mound of laundry
And a stairway laced with toys
Gives a blow by blow
Reminder of the war
That we fight for their well-being
For their greater understanding
To impart a holy reverance
For the Lord

But, baby, what will we do
When it comes back to me an you?
They look a little less
Like little boys every day
Oh, the pleasure of watching
The children growing
Is mixed with a bitter cup
Of knowing the watercolour ponies
Will one day ride away

And the vision can get so narrow
As you view through your tiny world
And little victories can go by
With no applause
But in the greater evaluation
As they fly from your nest of love
May they mount up with wings
As eagles for His cause

But, baby, what will we do
When it comes back to me an you?
They look a little less
Like little boys every day
Oh, the pleasure of watching
The children growing
Is mixed with a bitter cup
Of knowing the watercolour ponies
Will one day ride away

Yes, there are pictures galore around here and an endless mound of laundry, but Fred and I have been chosen by God to fight a war for these children. We're in the heat of the battle right now, but soon ... very, very soon ... our part of the war will be less physical and even more spiritual. One day those water colored ponies will ride away and we'll be left with memories of their childhood and no pictures, sticky handprints, muddy shoes, or a million pieces of Lego to complain about. (Remind me of this next week when I've forgotten about this song and am once again frustrated to no end about the mess that I'm cleaning up after them!)

Sunday, April 11, 2010

When I Was A Kid...

When I was a kid, I was expected to do my own homework, finish my own projects and be responsible for my own schoolwork on every account. I guess things have changed. Tonight I was browsing www.Kijiji.com looking for some good deals and I stumbled upon the following ad:


You hate writing essays. You can't stand finishing Seven chapters of math equations. You dread writing that 10 page book report.

That's where I come in.
-- I'll write your essay
-- Finish your seven chapters
-- And write that 10-page book report

For 10$ an assignment, I'll get you an A no matter where you live.
- I know what it's like to be in highschool and not have the time or patience to sit down and get to work. All I need is a copy of the project/assignment outline, your name, the requirements, and any other useful information I need.

Contact me at this email -
mailto:Gottaluvstewie@hotmail.com

Is this unbelievable or what?! This guy is actually offering to do homework for high school kids so that they don't have to do it themselves! I just can't believe this. He probably thinks he's being super-innovative by placing an ad like this, but come on! I don't know who Stewie is, but I don't think I gotta luv him!

And that's my rant for tonight.