Breaking Crow Bars In Sand Boxes

When I was a kid there were 6 of us terrorizing the place we called home. Often my dad used to say we were so destructive that we could "break a crow bar in a sand box".

I didn't think much of it except to be proud that we had earned the title of the most destructive kids (we boys were pretty proud of that).

Even when we received the really nice, super tough Tonka trucks we'd find a way to bust out their windows, smash them up pretty good, or light fire-crackers next to them to see how badly we could damage them.

I even remember one time one of us sitting in the middle of the cement floor in our unfinished basement in Clearfield while one of the other brothers would zoom matchbook cars past the hammer. The person in the middle would try to smash the car to smithereens while the person pushing the car would try to make the car miss the hammer. Oh what fun it was to watch a matchbox car go flying into a million pieces across that unfinished basement floor. We thought we were in heaven. Yep. We could pretty much destroy anything that came our way.

I've not thought much about how destructive we were or what my dad used to say until recently. You see, I now have 3 children and, for some crazy reason they seem to be trying to follow in their daddy's footsteps in the destruction department.

For those of you that have kids out there know, the little ones can be amazingly destructive to a house.

Exhibit #1: Carpet
I don't think we have a room in our house that hasn't been spilled on, walked on with muddy feet, had some sort of ink or grease dumped on it, medicine spit out on it, or just plain beat up.

Exhibit #2: Walls
If art consists of scribbles and marks in multiple colors on a wall, then our house has become an art gallery. Yes, Van Gough doesn't have anything on the volume of "art" adorning our walls these days.

It's amazing what a 2 year old and a black magic marker can do to walls. Or how amazingly colorful a Crayola orange marker will stain a carpet.

Exhibit #3: Cars
I think all 4 edges of the bumpers on our Van now have marks on them yet it's never been in an accident (well, unless you count all the rolling devices that use the bumpers as stopping devices as they come careening into the garage). The dings are popping up on the side where the riding toys share space with the van make a ding in a parking lot look minuscule by comparison.

The crumbs and droppings on the floor inside the van from time to time could probably feed a third world country.

Yes. It's amazing what 3 little children can produce.

So, I guess it only was after I had 3 little destructive angels did I come to fully realize what breaking a crowbar in a sandbox is all about....and my oldest is just barely 6. If the artistry and dings are indications of things to come, I'll have the most colorful house in the neighborhood before long.

I guess I'm getting what I deserved though. From what I hear, as children my siblings & I could make Van Gough's colors look bland in comparison.

So, when you stop by, if you see colors on the carpet and marks on the walls, please understand that I have 3 future Van Gough artists in training and they seem to be practicing on a fairly regular basis lately.

But, I've been told that there are lots of budding Van Goughs all over the world practicing daily as well. Guess we all know why carpet cleaning services survive now...

-Graydon