artist in residence.

It all started with being sick of the t.v.


We don't actually have t.v. We have A t.v. but it has no cable, not even peasant vision, not even fuzzy static.  It has a dvd player and a retro vcr that's still kickin around.
But the thing about t.v. is that even a little can turn into alot and it was feeling like a lot a few weeks ago.

The children were begging for cartoons and the mother was giving in...
The cartoons were turning the children's brains into tapioca and the mother was bothered....
The cartoons were making the children fussy and dissatisfied with other all pursuits like... life and toys and the outdoors.
So the mother said, "NO MORE!,  you shall be like normal children who do REAL activities!", and  POOF!, just like that with a wave of her magic wand (let's just say it was an egg beater), the t.v. was off limits.....

Only, the mother couldn't have picked a worse time....

The baby decided he LOOOOOVEEEEDDDD cartoons and this led to crying and small pleading hands reaching for the t.v., any dvd case in sight and even the laptop.
The little girl decided she no longer needed a nap in the afternoons.
The Mother realized how much packing and cleaning she had to do
And the Baby decided he didn't want to have a morning nap any more either.

Soooo.....

the Mother began to miss her babysitters,
Blues Clues and Diego, and Bob the Tomato and the whole crisper full of veggies with their bible stories and nonsense songs....

The mother just about gave up and gave in ....
but at just the right moment she realized...

That the baby had discovered how much he liked books (and not just the ripping and chewing of them.)
He would sit with a stack of them and very slowly turn the pages... he came across a picture of a cow and even said "moooo" (he might of said "mom" but let's stick with "moo" shall we?)

The daughter began to draw.
And draw
And draw
and the house became filled with something better than cartoons and even better than toys....
it became filled with a host of characters from  the daughter's imagination.

They are somewhat fearsome creatures, I must say, but their charm lies in their honesty and the way they look to the little girl who lovingly rendered them to life. They are mermaids and princesses and cowboys fairies and they are her friends with fantastic names like "sheila" and  "Ishnay" and  "Woogna" (that's my favorite).
She tells me some of them are sad, and some of them are silly and some are mean....


How on earth could I bring back the television now? A cartoon about a mermaid named Woogna would be so lame.


and this is Jackson apparently....."love"

And so our story continues...

The mother realized supper would not ever get made if one cartoon a day was not allowed
and the children have fallen into this new rythym happily with no complaints. (well, very few)

A compromise was reached and some new discoveries made
Some goals accomplished
And our experiences enlarged.

And Woogna and Sheila really like watching  a daily cartoon too.

The End.