27 Aug VIOLENCE & DUCKS

Well, as the kids got older – a lot of the art started adding militaristic items.  Like this duck – wearing an army helmet and seemingly shooting high-caliber machine-gun fire out of his bill!  I actually love this stuff.  It makes me laugh, seeing what seemingly innocuous creatures/items the boys turn into dangerous weapons of mass destruction.  Of course, none of these pics made it into the book.  I’ve just delivered the last of my kids’ art to Running Press.  And MOST of it – is much more innocent… and younger. Although, some of the portraits of dad were a bit harsh!  But that’s not even why I’m writing right now… It’s actually the fact that we’ve moved beyond the drawings and artistic endeavors… sigh…

Sadly, they don’t even care to draw that stuff now.  Despite my best attempts, video games have taken over the scene.  Yes, it looks like Fortnite has come to town.  And whenever it gets quiet – I immediately know there’s a battle going down.  I just have to look for the closest screen… and the eyes glued to it.  Do they move when I call?  No.  In fact, I think they get quieter… then I have to seek them out, before telling them – yo, that’s enough – you’ve been playing for like, 4-hours! Yup, we’ve already staked out the battle lines for the school year.  Dad vs. Fortnite.  And I’m not feeling good about my chances.

This all brings me back to the kids drawings, full circle-like.  I now totally miss the times when they were drawing mean, harsh pictures of Dad!  Interesting how time does that…