You Cannot Contain This

My morning begins by watching children race down the street so the speed limit monitor sign records their speed.  I still haven’t had enough coffee to move properly, and these kids are racing.  They know how to walk to school with flair.   I secretly want to record my own speed.  I still might, but I’m too busy trying to contain the activity. 

Turkey Masks

Then, I volunteer in the kindergarten classroom.  The teacher puts me in charge of the Turkey Masks for the feast the class will have next week.  I’m the monitor, and I can’t contain this project; the children smear glue everywhere, and feathers are in their hair, on their shirts, and attached to their jeans.

Eventually, we produce these fine specimens. 

However, nobody can see anything once the mask is on.  I wonder about this, but then I see kids delighting in darkness.

Apparently, this makes the feast more fun and uncontrollable.  

Meanwhile, I monitor the purple glue sticks and question how in the world they go on purple but dry clear.  The chemistry behind this phenomenon has me stumped.

Something dries out, and the purple disappears. Who invented this great item?  Maybe the same person who, as a kid, would have raced towards the speed limit monitor sign.

Lord, let me monitor my own joy today.  Let me race down streets, wear turkey masks even when I can’t see a thing, and stay vibrant purple.  Let me not be contained.  Let me have turkey feathers even on my jeans. 

I’m on my way to run in front of the speed monitor.   

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  1. When I would do glue sticks in Sunday school with my little ones at home, they would eat the glue as well, hehe. Yay for the chemists anticipating such an activity and making glue that doesn't hurt them when they eat it. They would also be more interested in the materials for the craft than the craft itself, but that just shows how many wonderful things really exist in the world if we look carefully. I miss doing the pilgrims and indian outfits from paper bags….maybe I'll do that with my little cousins over Thanksgiving :)Do we get to know your best speed?

  2. No speed yet! I wimped out because it started raining and was bitter cold! Not flair! So tomorrow morning, in front of the kids, I'll run like a maniac. Early projections say I might run a whopping 8 miles / hour.

  3. Running down the rainy street with wet turkey feathers would certainly qualify as flair. so would holding your head high and strutting while the neighbors gawked.

  4. That reminded me about two things that happened today. The first was the Pacer Test. In this, kids in Thurston run laps (22 meters) in limited time amounts. These kids pace themselves to a goal of laps. I got 80.
    The second thing this post reminded me of is a conversation I had with one of my clients for ETA Pet Care. We were talking about the advantages of left-handed people. I am a lefty but when I play softball, I throw with my right hand. This conversation turned into special people who make the greatest inventions.

  5. (de-lurking here – just discovered you a week or so ago and have loved every post!)
    How about other things that magically change color? Like the white ceiling paint you can buy that goes on pink and dries white so you know when you have the whole thing covered? or wall spackle that goes on pink (or purple) and dries white when it's ready to be painted?
    and at my son's well child check last week, our Pediatrician noticed his dry chapped hands, and taught him a trick using Neutrogena hand creme…it comes out of the tube clear, and as you rub it it turns white…and when it's all rubbed in well enough, it disappears again. Presto!