Blue Chalk

When I get home from work each day I have a little bit of paperwork and computer work I have to do to "end my day". Today when I got home my husband had to run out to do a little work for his business, leaving me alone with all three kids and the work I needed to finish. I went into my room aka "my office" to finish up leaving my very mature seven year old "in charge".


Don't get me wrong, I have pretty realistic expectations of a seven year old, her two year old sister and one year old brother. I can also hear them from my room. Unfortunately I somehow missed an entire blue chalk episode. I should have known something was up when they were so quiet and getting along so well.

I finished my work, didn't take very long, came out of my room and found blue chalk, everywhere. We're talking on the carpet, the walls, every single kitchen cabinet, the refrigerator, the tile floor, the coffee table, end table and sofa table. WOW. My husband had cleaned the house so nicely for me to come home to today. I just knew I had to get this all cleaned up before he returned. So I pulled out the Magic Erasers and put my 7 year old to work with me scrubbing it. Let me just tell you, blue chalk is not so easy to "erase". But we managed to get it all up with the exception of the carpet which I am sure will come up when I steam it sometime before Christmas.


I was so upset. Then I realized it reminded me of a poem:

Sometimes I might upset you
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
on furniture and walls.
  
But everyday I grow a bit
And soon I'll be so tall
That all those little fingerprints
Will be so hard to recall.
 
So here's a special handprint
Just so that you can say
This is how my fingers looked
When I placed them here today


Our children stay small for such a brief time. It is so easy to forget this when we get bogged down in the day to day routines of our lives. It is so easy to react to a "blue chalk" moment instead of standing back and realizing how quickly these moments pass and that one day we will, indeed, laugh at this. I mean, really, BLUE chalk? On so many surfaces, how quickly must she have done that? It really is kind of funny. At least now that it's all cleaned up, anyway. I mean who knows, perhaps she will be an artist one day and I just erased her first "masterpieces". Or maybe she'll join the Blue Man Group...yikes...scratch that last bit.

Bless her little heart, she really had no idea she had done anything wrong. She was so proud of herself for helping clean up, saying "Mommy, I keen up". She was completely unfazed that I was frustrated, tired, and upset over the entire ordeal. When I looked down at her smiling face filled with such pride for helping me I realized, what's a little blue chalk? It is so much more fun to relish in the moment, hug, laugh and enjoy my two year old. Blue chalk moments and all.