Tuesday, June 4, 2013

On coloring like a boss

Lindsay and Addison have been gone for a week. Yeah, I've missed them, but not in the "I don't even know what to do with myself" way that some people describe. I was a solitary guy before I got married or had a kid, and though I usually spend my days with a three-foot side-kick and I see my wife frequently since we're both at home, solitude is still comfortably nostalgic for me. I may in fact have compared myself to Boo Radley in a recent interview.

But just because I like being alone doesn't mean I don't also like thinking about my family. I've spent a little time going through the old pictures on our camera, which are mostly of Addison and my wife. They're pretty people. I like looking at them.

Right before they left, I got a series of pictures of Addison coloring that I've particularly been enjoying. Here's the scene:
It's around one or two o'clock, and Addison and I have just returned from the gym. I want to go check my e-mail and talk for a minute with Lindsay, so I tell Addison to color for a minute.
I sort of lose track of time, and haven't been hearing any noises from downstairs, so after 15 or 20 minutes I tiptoe to the family room (if she hears me, she'll tell me she needs my help) and this is what I see:

Nice. She's productively engaged, she isn't trying to stick anything in the electrical socket, she's not coloring occult symbols on the walls. I sneak back to my room and get back on the computer. Another ten or fifteen minutes passes, and I decide to check on her again. 
I tiptoe out, and she's gone from coloring regular to coloring LIKE A BOSS. I mean, look at that stance. That coloring book doesn't stand a chance against her:

And as I watch, she switches from coloring like a boss to whatever the next level up from that is, something truly epic and hardcore:
Yeah, my daughter planks while coloring (maybe this shouldn't surprise me, given her history with this position). She's not even thinking about it. She's so into her coloring book that she unconsciously chooses a position that tenses and tones every muscle in her body, so that it can match the intensity of her coloring. This girl, she kills me.
Also, she does some ballet-looking moves. I guess it's in her blood, since both her mom and grammy were dancers:

For the fun of it, here's two memes. Before you know it, you'll see some football player doing one of these in the end-zone, and then it'll be everywhere.