Shiny, happy people

What we've been through, oh, the past seven weeks, two days, eleven hours and three minutes, has been completely insane. There wasn't a day without extreme meltdowns, extreme pestering and extreme exhaustion (okay, the last one only on my part). And then, as usual, something happened. Ask my friends, "Whatever it is, it won't last forever." Not that I'm trying to publish a book of my own memorable, inspirational quotations...but this one works.

It (mostly) all began with a night out for pizza. The kids requested California Pizza Kitchen, and since pizza's not really on the "Beach," hey, that's just great. As we're eating and talking and making our way through the "I want more lemonade"s, C starts singing something. What's that, sweetie?

Above the din of our crowd and the restaurant he found the way out. This is what I've been looking for. This is what they are and this is what I will see in them and this is what I'll be.

Score one for REM.

Who’s the leader the next day?

Leader of the day. It seems to work at preschool – a five-year-old and two three-year-olds qualify as a day care facility, right? So when the time came that we all got big enough to race to the bathroom sink to wash hands before lunch and “discuss” whether we were watching trains or Little Bear, I knew I needed a strategy. Leader of the Day was born.

There are completely comical times where it seems we cannot make a single decision without knowing who the leader is. Despite the fact that there are three children in the house, there are only three of them and the pattern is pretty easy to pick up – R, C, G, R, C, G, R, C.... My sweet rascal boy C thrives in the knowledge of this system. With the coyest of smiles growing with each question, “Mom, who’s the leader today? Who’s the leader tomorrow? Who’s the leader the next day?”

There’s a certain feeling that comes over you as you patiently answer each question. Again. The expectedness, the security, the reassurance.

Right there in that empty space.

I readily admit, I am having a blast reading "Charlotte's Web" to R. "Mom, mom, are we reading a chapter tonight?" The excitement about reading thrills me. So, a child's path to reading starts with picture books -- it's all about the pictures. They look at a bright, colorful picture, parent says the word, they learn to say the word...but it's all about the picture. They progress to books with storylines, still driven by pictures. They start to memorize the story, using the pictures as prompts.

For our clients, we as graphic designers look for that balance between text and images to create a particular story as well. Time and time again, we educate the uneducated in the use of "white space" -- ahhh, that lovely part of a page. But, hey, if a client is paying for the paper and the press to print on it, well, there's room right here for another picture or blurb about so-and-so getting an award, right?!

"Charlotte's Web" is not full of pictures. It's the start of the pleasure of reading and being able to visualize it yourself, use your imagination to fill in the details. Every so often, the publisher has thrown in a line drawing, and R really enjoys when one comes up. "Is there another picture?" No, not yet. "But they could have put one, right there, right there in that empty space."

With any luck we can turn this "bad client" around before it's too late...