Friday, July 20, 2012

Day 2: Coloring is Awesome!!

Every year while I was growing up, my Mama would go Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving with some of her high school classmates.  We three boys loved it for two reasons.  The first one was the obvious one--we knew we were getting our Christmas presents.  The second was we also knew we were going to get a small surprise when she got home after being gone the whole day.  More often times than not, that surprise was a box of crayons and a coloring book.  I was very detailed in my coloring.  I would outline and use that black crayon until it was gone because I wanted each shadow and shade to look just right.

Years passed and I hadn't colored in a while and then my son came along.  When he got his first coloring book and crayons, we put him at his table and turned him loose.  It kept him occupied.  Then one night, things changed.

My wife and I had sat him down at his table and began to walk off when he we heard the question, "Mama and Daddy, do you want to color with me?"  For those of you who have kids, you know the answer to that is always a resounding yes.  So, my wife and I sat down and began our coloring.  It has become a semi-weekly thing at the Wood household to have coloring nights.  You color fanatics out there, go to www.coloringbookfun.com.  They have tons of free pictures you can print off.  If your kid can think of it, they have it.

Creativity is huge in life.  We as adults need to be able to think outside the box.  When I was in retail management before teaching, a lot of my ideas seemed "out there."  However, a lot of those ideas turned out to be pretty good ones because I had a boss that cultivated my ideas.  He would always said it's not a bad idea until it doesn't work.  The only way to see if it is good is to do it.  If not, start over.

On our last coloring session, I colored a Superman and so did my son.  After we hung them up on the fridge, my son walked over to them and looked at them for a minute and then walked away.  I asked him what he thought.  He said, "Yours is good, but mine is horrible."  That broke my heart.  I wanted to rip my picture in my half or color all over it if I knew it would make him feel better.  I asked him why his was horrible and he told me my colors looked better and his colors were wrong.

I told him nothing he does is horrible.  "I love your picture," I told him.  "I wished I had colored Superman's suit red because I like what yours looks like."  He smiled from ear to ear.

We have to be a fountain of encouragement to our kids.  My preacher used to ask if we were a cistern or fountain for God.  Cisterns are like jars and when the water is gone, they are essentially useless until someone fills them up again.  Fountains never stop.  Our children need to know that when they have a bad day, their Daddy will always be there to help talk about it.

I coached baseball for a few years.  Yeah, this is when you let out a collective sigh because you know what's coming.  Do you know how many kids I saw brought to tears because of an error on the field?  That error on the field was usually followed by an error off the field.  The tears weren't because of the coach, it was their parents, usually their Daddy.  Dads, we have so much power in our children's lives.

Today, my son and I colored a picture of Batman and Robin.  I told you we like superheroes.  His picture looks very similar to mine, of course.  He asked me for guidance the whole time we were coloring.  "What color is Robin's cape?" he would ask.  "What color are the buildings, Daddy?"

Our children are there for us to guide.  So many parents do not take that power seriously.  In Spiderman, the main message of the movie is with great power comes great responsibility.  As corny as it sounds, I use that quote a lot be it parenting or teaching or any other position of authority.

We have so much power to influence our children, be it good or bad.  Last night during the Twitter party, I tweeted that the smallest things to us as parents are usually the biggest things to them.  Simply going with them when they come into the room with their hand outstretched and that command, "Come here."  Brighton sometimes just wants me to come into his room and sit on his bed while he plays.  I don't do anything except answer his questions about who should go where or what block matches the others.

We had a good talk during the coloring.  To be honest, I think I enjoy it more than he does.  My wife says I am a kid but I say coloring is relaxing.  My pictures look better too since I am older and can take my time, lol.

Don't forget to keep up with your tasks.  I have left:

  • Have a family meal at least once this week
  • Read a book together
  • Spend 30 minutes of interactive play
  • Spend 30 minutes of being active outside
  • Have a family game night this week

Stay tuned Monday hopefully for a picture of my future child in peanut form.  We are so looking forward to Monday afternoon.  Brighton gets to go too and see his future little brother or sister.

Remember to be the Fathers God wants us to be and the Daddy our kids need us to be.  Until next time...

Here are our pictures we colored today.




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