The True Story of a Peanut Butter Masterpiece
The True Story of a Peanut Butter Masterpiece:
Peanut butter was like paint. He reached his chubby little hands into the giant tub of peanut butter. He really couldn’t resist. There was SO MUCH peanut butter! It was so soft and squishy as he squeezed his hand down into the tub. Pulling out a handful, he touched it with his free fingers and smeared it around in his hand.
Yep. It felt like paint! Wonderful, sticky, yummy smelling paint! He turned in his high chair and looked around. What could he paint ON?
The table? No. The table was the same color as the peanut butter. That would be no fun at all!
He twisted around in his blue plastic Little Tykes chair and had a thought. He touched his peanut butter covered hand tot he side of the chair and smiled. Ooooh… that was nice! The peanut butter smeared so perfectly over the bright blue chair.
Hmmm… it wasn’t quite right. He stood in his chair, even though he probably shouldn’t. Mom would probably get mad, but wait until she saw his painting! His masterpiece would be so amazing. He turned, his hand full of peanut butter and stared at the brand new, striped allpaper.
Never had there been a more perfect canvas.
Just a few minutes was all it took to cover every conceivable area he could reach. His artwork was almost finished! Grabbing one last handful of the gloriously perfect peanut butter, he was just reaching up to put the finishing touches on his project when he heard her foosteps walk into the room.
Silence.
He realized just then that he had just done a very very bad thing.
He slunk down in his chair as he heard, “KAINAN TRUTH WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
And then his mom burst out into laughter until there were tears running down her face.
This is based very strongly on a true story. I’m fairly certain that as the mom in this story, I unfortunately did NOT burst into laughter, though. In hindsight, I wish I would have! We had just covered up horribly dark paneling with slightly less ugly wallpaper when this happened. I have a photo around here somewhere of him caught in the act, but I can't find it at the moment, so these photos from his fingerpainting-handprints with actual paint will have to do!
Knowing how sensitive he was as a toddler, I'm sure I didn't react too badly! He was already feeling bad enough about it on his own.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure. This was when Kainan was probably about two? I had left the giant tub of peanut butter on the table and went to change a diaper. Kainan, as he tended to do, climbed up on the table to see what he could find to eat.
He’s not so little anymore, but still as ornery as always!
All photos are mine, with the exception of the 100 Day Freewrite graphic from @mariannewest
This is my submission for the #freewrite prompt of the day, thanks to @mariannewest
PLEASE, if you have ever enjoyed writing, check out her freewriting challenge and give it a try! It is the most wonderful, supportive group that I have had the pleasure of being a part of. I encourage you to try, even if you think you can't write at all!
I took on this challenge after insisting for decades that "I can NOT write short stories!!!" and found that not only can I write short stories, but I enjoy it immensely and it has inspired me to write more each day on my longer pieces of fiction as well. Give it a go!
There is also a CONTEST going on to celebrate 100 Days of Freewrite that you should check out as well!
Other Writing of mine that you might be interested in:
You are a great writer
It is a very touching and beautiful story, I reach my soul, I really touch my heart. Good job!
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You brought a smile to my face!
@byn
Exactly how it works, and then I'd look at the little devil and ask myself: "Do I remember telling him not to play with the phone while going to the toilet?" I know - - Your story certainly brings back memories.
Right? They're so... ornery sometimes, but yeah. Did I actually tell him that he couldn't do that? He was always the one that ate everything in sight when I wasn't looking, like taking a bite out of every apple in the bag when I left the room! :)
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
@byn
That picture taken when he was caught in the act must be super precious! Gotta see his expressions, HAHAHAA!
If you've seen the photos of dogs who've done something wrong... it's pretty much like that! We packed our house and belongings up three years ago to go live on a boat for a while and I still haven't gotten some of it back out, so there are things hidden away in the attic at the moment!
You have a great way of telling a story. They tend to stir up wonderful memories for me. 😊 I wonder what he did with his first birthday cake?
I made him an Elmo cake or Big Bird for his first birthday, hoping to get some funny photos, but he was afraid to touch it! :)
Thanks for the comment!
I loved the point of view of the kid, innocent and spontaneous!! It was super fun and it gave me a smile and helped me to disconnect from work for a moment 😁👍
Thank you for such a sweet compliment! I love to think that I can help distract from work! :)
@byn
Your artist!! Precious moments that might not have felt so precious at the time!
Haha, I'll have to tell him that he DOES have artistic tendencies!!! He's the one out of five kids who has never been artistic ever since. He'll just say that I traumatized him over this!
Better than his little brother who painted the bars of his crib and the wall beside his crib with a dirty diaper in the middle of the night one time. :/
Thanks for reading!
OMG we really do deserve awards for raising children!
I loved the way you narrated and described that. I felt as if I was a curious little tot exploring the world there!
Thank you! I tried to imagine what it was like from his perspective. I kind of want to do this with a bunch of old memories of my kids now!
Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment!
@byn
You should! And I'd read them :)
It really Indeed the story of peanut butter. Thanks for sharing the information with us. @byn congrats for winning the minnow of the week.
The peanut butter masterpiece!
Thanks for the comment and Yes! I was SO surprised and pleased :)
I wished we wouldn't be so overwhelmed as young moms to be able to laugh at a peanut butter masterpiece. We really have to change this again. Everyone is sooo busy all the time....
Well, other than having 4 kids under the age of 7, I wasn't busy with anything else.
Wait... 4 kids 6 & under? Yeah, I guess I WAS busy :) Not too busy that we didn't add ONE more kid, though ;)
I try to advise my oldest to not worry about doing "all the things" that her mommy friends do all the time. I can't imagine being a parent in this age of social media! I'm glad that it wasn't an option for me for the first few kids at least!!!
Thank you for your support @mariannewest I know you're busy and it means a lot to me!
I can't even imagine having 4 under 6 and one more coming. I had 3 under 6 and that was enough for me
And yes, keep telling your daughter to enjoy the time when they are little. Cleaning and all kinds of other things can wait!!
And social media shows the dream world, not the reality...
I really want to change this crazy stress young families are under. More and more and more all the time. That is why I am such a hands on grandma - which can be exhausting LOL
I hear you! I pick up my grandkids every Friday morning for "Grandma Day" so that my daughter can get some time to herself. It makes me wonder sometimes how I did that every day on so little sleep!