Driven to Extremes

Recently the kids were invited to a birthday party with a drive in movie theme. The hosts were going to set up a big screen in their back yard and all of the party goers were told to come equipped with cardboard box 'cars' that they made. 12 year old K-boy eschewed this invitation in favor of staying home with BadDad to watch scary movies, but M-girl and D-boy were enchanted with the idea and couldn't wait to get started on their cars.

Actually they didn't wait. No sooner had my hubby scrounged up a couple of empty cartons, then they set to work, visions of a pink convertible and an aquamarine big rig dancing in their heads. After much cutting of cardboard and usage of specially purchased duct tape, this is what their cars looked like.

Not quite party ready. I moaned and put it on my mental to do list. There it stayed until the day before the party.

By then I had two kids anxious that they wouldn't have functional cars for the party, and a colossal dread of the messy project ahead. Finally, I gathered new boxes and headed for the basement for some peace while I thought of how to assemble their dream cars. At times it would be simpler to have less creative children.

After much pondering, and more delaying, I realized that colored wrapping paper was the solution to all of our construction problems. A quick 4pm trip to Target, and we were ready to go with both hot pink and aquamarine paper. The kids were right there helping me, so hours later...we still weren't done and I sent everyone to bed.

The next morning (party day) I woke up bright, refreshed and panicked. We set to work like machines, cranking out tail fins, windshields, headlights and real working hoods. Finally, an hour or so before party time we were done and the cars were pretty darn amazing considering they were entirely made of cardboard, paper and tape. When I saw the grins on M-girl's and D-boy's faces, I was puffed up with super mom pride.

On the way out to the party M-girl piped up and said, Mom do you think Mrs. K. really meant for it to be so much work?

Oh, I'm sure everyone had a good time making their cars. This kind of work is fun! I replied.

Imagine my surprise when we arrived at the party only to discover that most of the other 'cars' were quite a bit simpler than ours. For starters they were still their original cardboard color, and didn't have the same degree of ornamentation as ours. Not a tail fin or whitewall tire in sight. The party goers, happy to be given licence to pretend, swarmed around, admiring all of the cars, and having the kind of carefree fun that children can have on a warm summer night.

Sigh! My hubby says I get a tad obsessed with perfection sometimes. Maybe this was one of those times? Perhaps I could have but the brakes on the crafting monster just a bit?

Still it was all worth it when D-boy, grin still firmly in place, asked on the way home from the party,

Mom, can I keep my truck forever?

Sure you can, Sweetheart. Sure you can.

linking to:  Pour Your Heart Out