July 24, 2012

The Easel

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The easel.

Bought from a garage sale for $5, it had seen a lot of life since its days in the Ikea store (*edit: I just realized this sells for $50 new-score!). Marker and crayon shapes and letters were scrawled all over. It looked a little lonely and sad, and because I wanted it to be one of Millie's birthday gifts, I decided we definitely needed paint to spruce it up.

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Off the two of us went to the store, and after debating a while, I narrowed it down to a couple colors- a deep green which would cover over everything with one coat, or a cheerful, macaroni yellow that would take several coats. I held up the two small paint cans in front of Millie, and she peered at them thoughtfully from the cart. "Which one should we get, Millers?" And maybe because she seems to like yellow, or maybe because she doesn't point out the color green yet, she joyfully replied, "Yellow!" I sighed to myself, wondering why I was letting a one year old pick out a paint color, and set the yellow can in the cart.

The back and forth brushstrokes seemed almost therapeutic, even in the brightest July sun and heat. I'd start one coat earlier in the day, and layer on another as the sky turned different sherbet colors and the cicadas sang. Millie watched me paint some of the time, completely oblivious that it was going to be her birthday present (or even what is was, probably). At times, I grew a bit impatient, eager for the finished product, but I'd find myself looking out the window at it every so often and smiling. It's not perfect, and I hope no one looks too closely, but it's the bright yellow she wanted, and better than how we found it.

And in the end, I came to see it as a metaphor in some small way- how I'm helping to create the framework for her life, but she'll be the one to fill it full of stories and colors. I suppose it's easy to get sentimental and see the past what meets the eyes these day, though.

After all, the tiny baby met for the first time and I held in my arms nearly two years ago is hardly a baby at all anymore. And because time passes too quickly ever since she's been on this earth, I gave it to her a few days early. We spent yesterday afternoon drawing all the moons, hearts, and names she wanted.

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19 kind comments from you:

Lisa said...

It looks great in yellow! Love the makeover!

Michelle said...

I love it! And the color is such a good pick (nice one, Millie!).

Marcella{The Life After "Trust Me"} said...

I think the yellow is perfect!!

Anonymous said...

Millie definitely picked the perfect color! It looks awesome.

Chantal said...

That is a great present for her, and perfect memories!

vintch said...

darling you're such a good mama. millie is such a lucky little girl. this looks like such fun:) on a random note, millie's skirt is darling!!

Michelle said...

I LOVE it! The yellow is so cheerful. And what a completely brilliant gift :)

greaterexp said...
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greaterexp said...

She's darling, and the easel is a work of art all by itself!

Skinnie Piggie said...

Very fun! She seems to be enjoying it =)

applesandglue said...

I have that easel in my classroom, wish I had only paid $5 for it (though the Ikea price wasn't too bad). It looks great painted, I may have to try that out too lol! And Millie is an absolute doll!

The New Normal said...

It looks great and I bet she loves it! What a fun gift!

____j said...

That turned out great! I love the pictures!

Erika . . . with a K said...

This turned out awesome. I love the yellow - very fun!

Karen said...

That looks awesome. And your post made me tear up too - Millie is so lucky and blessed to have a mother like you :)

Fran said...

Love it, it looks so cute!

Contemplating Beauty said...

Amazing transformation! Seriously I love it:) I hope she had a great great birthday (I saw you post it on FB, but wasn't sure if it had already passed) Happy Birthday (again) to the sweetest girl!

beka said...

it turned out so cute! you did such a good job:)

Mel said...

Great project! Well done!

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