All That Glitters

When we found out that we were going to have a boy, I was honestly a little sad. Not because I wanted a girl - I wanted a healthy, happy baby no matter what the gender - but because I would miss out on all the things that I knew to do with a little one. I knew about crafts, coloring, coloring books, beads, finger painting, etc. I realized as I was waddling through the local Michaels that I'd have to abandon the idea of coloring with my little person and learn about trains, model ships and airplanes and learn to like the smell of rubber cement (and learn how to get it off the kitchen table). It was more fear, than sadness.

As Little Man has grown into this marvelous creature full of creativity and his own ideas, I am happy to see that he does like to color and draw with markers and finger paints (even if it is all over the place). What I wasn't expecting was his apparent interest in glitter. Maybe interest isn't the correct word. More like obsession. Everything he brings home from school has glitter on it. Every gift he makes for his father or me has glitter on it. And when he gets home from school he takes his glitter-laden art project and shows it to every room in the house, shedding glitter in every room in the house.


Photo by LeeAnn Rhoden
Art by Little Man

Glitter doesn't sweep up. Glitter doesn't vacuum up. Glitter might dust up from hard surfaces onto a damp dust cloth, but then it will fall off the dust cloth onto another surface, or floor, or clothing, or hands, and from there into the hair, on the face, in the eyes, in the mouth, on the counter, in the refrigerator, in dinner. In fact, I've witnessed the Little Man picking at the glitter. "Look, Mama, I made the sofa sparkly." Great. Just great.

Glitter is everywhere in our house. And at certain times of the day when the sun is coming in at just the right angle, it's quite pretty. I don't know if glitter has qualities I should be aware of like does it conduct electricity? What happens if it get inside the computer? Does it clog drains? Is it eventually bio-degradable? If it gets into a cut and skin heals over it, or it is inhaled, will the body reject it? I just don't know.

I do know that his "art" projects bring him joy and he treasures his creations. To me, they are priceless worth far more than gold.