Sam and the Purple Crayon

Sam is a big fan of the book, "Harold and the Purple Crayon."  I love it too, it's so very clever and creative.  Harold has really sparked his imagination which is, of course, a wonderful thing. Ah, but all things in moderation I have learned.

Harold comes over to play quite often and can be heard knocking on the door by one claivoyant resident.  So we answer the door and invite him in, over and over again.  It's a tad tedious but still pretty cute.  We have amassed several of the Harold books and gotten another out of the library.  If you aren't acquainted with Harold, he is a little boy who basically draws his world on the blank world all around him using, you guessed it, a purple crayon.

Well, a couple of months ago, I realized that Sam's doting Aunt Lynne had given him the video even before he was born.  So we whipped that puppy out, and it was a big hit.  The video is really neat because you can watch him actually draw with the crayon.  Sam was entranced by it right away, and he started to get really into coloring.  Cool!  Then he started to want to hold a crayon in his hot little hand while watching the video.  Not wanted to hamper his budding creative genius, I gave in after reminding him that we don't write on walls like Harold does.  

Sam didn't write on the walls, he wrote ON THE TV SCREEN.  All over it!  And all over the windows too.  And dontcha know it, technically he wasn't even out of line because he didn't write on the walls.  Future lawyer in the making, eh?  Surprisingly, the crayon came off very easily with just a wet cloth.  Good to know in case your child starts channeling Harold, too.  

That all blew over a while ago, and the other day he really wanted to watch the show while holding a purple crayon.  So after reviewing the No Scribble Policy in great detail with all parameters explained, I let him.  He did just fine.  Then it was nap time, and he desperately wanted to hold the purple crayon in his hand during his nap.  I relented, thinking that there was really nothing in his crib to write on anyway.

After I put him down, I went into my office next door.  It was very quiet which should have been my first  clue.  My second clue was this muffled scratching sound, something I had never heard before.  I didn't want to getting him all riled up by going in there in case it was nothing, so I hesitated for a minute and then busted in.  PURPLE CRAYON ALL OVER THE WALL!!  Aaaaaaaah!  He had reached all the way around the crib tent and gone to town, Harold-ing it up.  I was speechless, beyond words, mute, appalled.  And then my next thought was, "Oh my God!  Bernie is going to KILL me, and I deserve it!"  Nooooooo.....

There is a happy ending to this story.  I will always have a special place in my heart for Magic Eraser.  It is indeed magic, it does erase purple crayon off ultra-white walls, and it saved my life.  

LibbY