Find all of my 31 Moments of Motherhood posts here.
********************************
[Lights come up on a small craft table with a bottle of glue, construction paper, and a half-empty container of glitter on it, most of it spilled out on the table. A woman walks on stage, sees the mess, sighs, and heads over to table to clean up.]
Me
“My kids love glitter. Maybe all kids love glitter? Personally, I detest it.”
“Our glitter adventures usually go down like this…the kids smear big gobs of glue on their construction paper (completely ignoring the lovely rhyme, ‘A dot is a lot, a squiggle is a little, and a lake is a mistake.’) Then, they pour out enough glitter to cover five sheets of paper, shake it off in pink clouds, squeal in delight, and then it has to sit for two days to dry. Then, the clean-up crew has to come in and try to mop up the glitter off the table, floor, kids hair, and every other nook and cranny in a one mile radius.”
[Tipping the excess glitter back into the container as she talks.]
Me
“You might ask me, ‘Why do you keep glitter in the house, if you despise it so much?'”
“Good question.”
[Picks up the glittered picture and sits down on the edge of the table.]
“When my oldest daughter was really little, I confess, I micro-managed her crafting adventures. Glue here…sticker here…and we’re done. But as I watched what she wanted to do, it was much more organic. She wanted to cut pieces of paper into shreds, she wanted to glue stacks of hearts together, and she wanted to use…glitter.”
“And she had a lot more fun when I wasn’t hovering over her every move, wiping and directing and smothering her creativity. So…”
[Stands up and steps back away from the table.]
Me
“I stepped back. Learned to let go of a neat and tidy craft area. Found a perfect spot for an ever-growing pile of kid creations. Bought some containers of glitter.”
“It’s messier…but thankfully, everything looks better when it is sprinkled with glitter.”
[Tosses some glitter up into the air. Lights down.]
