I found a new home for Hazel's kitty
cats.
When I went to pick them up, Hazel's mom
asked if I could help her hang her chalkboard. She had painted the wall earlier
in the week, and now it was time to put the old board back where it belonged.
We worked together, finding the screws in
the wall and matching them up with the grooves on the back of the board.
Funny how life has a way of reminding
us of things through the smallest gestures. Sometimes the message is so subtle
you nearly miss it.
This too shall pass.
There we were, two parents who have weathered
their share of storms, working together to hang a chalkboard, and I couldn't
help thinking about what it has evolved into..
What began as a simple tool to make
parenting a little easier eventually became something I never imagined. That
chalkboard turned into a form of therapy for me, a place to collect my
thoughts, make sense of the world, and occasionally laugh at the bullshit of
it all.
Somewhere along the way, it also created
a community I affectionately call Chalkhead Nation. The blog has been averaging
2500 to 3000 hits a day. From the Shepkids preschool schedule to all corners of
the earth.
Something designed to keep a family
organized became a daily reminder that none of us travels through this world
entirely alone.
Not bad for a piece of chalk and a
wooden frame.
In the old-school tradition, the way
chalkboards were originally intended to be used, I have returned to the basics
this morning.
My Saturday schedule is right there in the
grabber section.
Haircuts with Fritz. Rugby on the
television. Rugby out at the pitch, and tonight, a trip to Fitzgerald's for a
little gusto and some good rock and roll.
Not a bad way to spend
a Saturday.
The wall gets painted, the chalkboard gets
rehung, the children grow older, the kitties find a new home and life keeps
moving.
Every once in a while, if we are paying
attention, we discover that something we thought was just another chore was
actually a reminder of how far we have come.
Happy Saturday, Chalkheads.
