Chalk It Up

The family that lives on the first floor of our condominium building in Boston have two young children. Which means there are plenty of toys scattered across our driveway, including a couple of bicycles, a variety of balls, a doll or two, and my favorite of the bunch – a box of sidewalk chalk.

Hardly a day goes by without the appearance of a new drawing scrawled across the pavement. From hopscotch squares to birthday wishes, you never know what you'll find next.

As someone who can't knit, crochet, paint, sculpt, compose, needlepoint, sing, or draw, I am always impressed by how easily the kids fling themselves into new art projects. Using the macadam as their canvas, they remind me the fun is in the process, not in the outcome.

"When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did for work. I told her I worked at a college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said 'You mean they forgot?'" – Howard Ikemoto