Blood Lessons
Warning: If your squeamish about blood you should pass on this post.
I’ve been thinking a lot about creativity, where it comes from and how we foster it. Allie, my 5 year old, gave me a good lesson in this, as she so often does.
It’s bed time a couple of nights ago and I’m making good night rounds to my threesome. I quietly poke my head in at the door to Allie’s room to see what she’s doing. (Don’t you love being a fly on the wall and catching them doing all sorts of sweet, uninhibited things?) Allie is sitting in her bed with a blood-stained kleenex. (okay, not so sweet, but wait!) It’s been super dry here in Colorado and Allie has been suffering through some bloody noses. So I’m watching her and I see her press the kleenex to her nostril, pull it back and look thoughtfully at the mark she’s just made. She rotates the tissue a bit and then pulls the kleenex to her nose again and presses. She pulls it back, looks carefully and presses. She does this at least four times, with a considered pause and careful placement with each press.
“Whatcha doing?” I ask.
“Oh, Mom, LOOK! Isn’t it beautiful?!” as she holds up her masterpiece.
And, my heart gets that excited throbbing you get when your kids do something wonderful (yes, this is over a blood-stained kleenex) as I see the joy in her face, the thrill and happiness she feels from seeing the color, pattern, and texture in the simplest of things – delight in creating.
“It is, Allie, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Thanks for reading.
Anne Weil
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