Sailboats and Little Boys

New York

When my sons were little, I did as much as possible to keep them busy. Projects abounded: making candles in cookie cutter molds, hundreds of model airplanes, pot holders, woodburning sets, endless paint sets, and little plastic objects that would shrink when they were put in a low oven for a few minutes. It was my proactive action to prevent mischief after school before I was home from the office, while making dinner, and, in later years, a general panacea for the cabin fever that resulted from the endless winters in Chicago.

I guess it didn't harm them too much. But more than once, Ben and Chris have chided me about the rationale for these "crafts", saying: " Right, Mom. Did you think we thought we were gonna be Picasso? We knew you were just trying to keep us busy."

Maybe. But, the fact is, it seemed fairly effective, and create some memories as well.

Chris, my oldest son built a sailboat as a project when he was about 5--then we took it down to the Reflecting Pool on the Mall in Washington, DC, our home at the time, to see how well it floated. Somewhere there's a wonderful old Polaroid of him sliding it into the water, the Washington Monument poking up on a curled corner of the snapshop.

I bought a kit for a wooden sailboat for Ethan, my oldest grandson, Chris' son, for Christmas. He smiled when he got it like kids do when they're old enough to know they should be happy with the present--but are secretly wondering if it's really something to play with.

So, imagine my surprise when I got the picture above of Ethan today entitled: Painting My Sailboat. And I guess now Ethan will find out how projects in little boxes wrapped in cellophane can turn into fun!

And maybe sometime soon I'll get to go with him to see if it floats on the pond near the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park.

It's definitely Spring.
MC