Thursday, August 5, 2021

THE COLORING ASSIGNMENT


 
Coloring, Wrightsville Beach, NC

We were on vacation and having dinner outside on the pier of a great seafood restaurant in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with my four-old grandson.  A smart, well-trained hostess will bring along a coloring sheet and crayons with the menus when seating an active child.  The image on the coloring sheet was a beach scene with sand, ocean, sun, palm trees and sea life.   He dove right in coloring and was only slightly distracted by the hovering pigeons that were waiting for the opportunity to swoop up any food that might hit the deck.

He did a good job completing most of the image and then asked Papa if I could help finish the sheet.  Of course, when a grandchild asks for assistance, the answer is automatic!  I filled in all but the sky and water, since the color blue had already been used for some of the other details. 

But when I returned the sheet, I was rebuked for not completing my assignment in the sky and water!  My coloring critic was not happy with the task entrusted to me and it was promptly returned to my embarrassment in such a public setting.  So, I immediately went back to work on my coloring art with a renewed fervor and commitment I hadn’t mustered since retirement!

I finished the work by carefully staying within the boundaries and returned it to my young mentor for another critique.  And then I breathed a sigh of cautious optimism when I saw his eyes light up as he scrutinized my coloring talent.  My daughter asked how he would judge my artistic work on a scale of one to five?  Then the surrounding tables fell silent and the pigeons stopped dead in their tracks as the verdict was contemplated.  Finally, after an anxious eternity the judgement was rendered with a resounding 10! 

I was so relieved and excited to receive such a prestigious ranking in Olympic coloring that I almost spilled my gin and tonic!

P.S.

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