On Slug Marmelade and Life Stages

An anthropologist friend of mine pointed out that even the niftiest artists and crafters go through life stages where their work has different levels of meaning and focus. Parenting a toddler is a life stage that is not to be trifled with. Which is to say that rather than sketching on this amazing sunny weekend during which spring was indeed starting to spring, I found myself...

• Introducing the kiddo to the concept of catkins, and showing how the pollen poofs out when you shake them,
• Clarifying that crocuses come in a whole range of colors, from yellow to white to purple, and
• Inventing fancy new common names for certain wild fungi (in Spanish, no less) to clarify that even though they are stunningly pretty, they aren't meant for human consumption. Thus, "witches jelly" is now "mermelada de babosa" (marmelade for the slugs) in my book.

And in turn, the kiddo did some marvellous drawing on the lids of cardboard boxes. Not only do I applaud the control she had to make all those broad parallel strokes, but she also 

• Clearly articulated the differences between "light" and "dark" versions of colors (claro/oscuro) for the first time I've heard, and
• Narrated a very specific strategy for which colors she wanted to use first and then which would come next, in a very deliberate way.

Dang. Landmark city in my brain, at least.

Plus, she declared "I love the catkins," which is the first time we've ever heard her say "I love (x)" about anything.

Am not sure if I am realistically going to keep updating this blog much in the near future, so this post can be a nod to the dynamic force of life stages in the meantime.