It Should Have Been Obvious

The image above is a detail from one of two drawings I found lying in the hall on the second floor of our house. They've been lying there for a while, I must admit, but this evening, the kids and I (mostly I) tidied up impressively. So when I encountered the pictures this time, I was bound and determined to do something with them.

My M.O. when it comes to dispensation of art projects either to the Big Bin of Art Projects or to recycling involves studying the piece for either: (1) iconic images that depict something particularly emblematic of the artist at that point in his or her childhood or (2) the word "love" as it pertains to Mom or Dad (OK, mostly Mom). In the case of the two drawings in question, one was run of the mill, while the other contained some rescue-related sketches that might qualify it for archival storage.

After covertly disposing of the former, I approached the four-year-old artist about the latter. Pointing to the "don't" sign with the stick person inside it, I asked, "What does this symbol mean, honey?"

He walked over, looked at the picture for the briefest of moments, and said without missing a beat, "The letters mean 'Life Guard Rescue,' and that (pointing to the picture) means, 'No diving so hard on the diving board that (his arms started flapping here) you look like you have two arms on each side.' Because if you do that, you might hit your head on the bottom of the pool."

A guffaw was all I could summon in response.