Contributing to the delinquency of a minor

Yesterday evening was Princess's Ice Cream Social and Open House at school. I have been attending these events since 2002. Every year I say to myself, "Next year, I will not come at 6:30pm. I will not endure the craziness of the gymnasium with kids hepped up on ice cream and the noise levels nearing the sound of a jet planes." But every year, I forget. Every year, I get begged and cajoled into getting in the car at 6:15pm so we can be there just as they start. Every year, my kids are near the first in line. I'm there so early that there are still parking spaces in the lot. It's not right.

Hubby was late in Seattle so it was just me and the kids. After our cups of ice cream, we eagerly waited to check out all there was to see in Princess's classroom. She proudly showed me her papier-mache model of the island. She had watercolored an adorable sunshine-in-a-box project. I thought that was very clever. She also showed me her biography report that she made into a cube. I actually had seen that one before, but we got to take it home. And she also made a book about the world. Up on the bulletin boards were her letters to her penpal from across the island at another elementary school. Her letters from her Lola and her Grandpa were also posted. I had to adjust the growing-up and sent-from pins on the map. Lola's letter was erroneously placed on Lanai. Wrong island. I also put Grandpa's pin a little more south in California. They had him in the middle of the state. I don't even know what is there.

On the dry erase board, Miss B. wrote a list of things to remember to take home. It looked like this:

Things to take home:
*Map of the island
*Biography cube
*Sunshine-in-a-box
*Book of the world

My son and I read off the list and noted a missing item. You really should take home your child. We kind of giggled about that and then I said, "I dare you to write it." He hesitated a little, scanned the room quickly to see where the teacher was. I said, "I'll even keep lookout." He said, "Okay, where's the pen?"

So I stood between him and Miss B who was talking to another parent. Scrawled in kid writing instead of super precise teacher writing was one more starred item: *Your kid.

We sauntered away from it and waited for people to notice. It took a little while, but then somebody did notice and there were a couple of laughs and it was pointed out to other people who got a kick out of it. It would have been fun to see Miss B's reaction but she was too busy. I'm hoping that Princess will see it in the morning and come home with a story about it.

For those of you who knew me growing up, you know that I was so straight laced that my laces were practically sticks. So this little act was really no big deal. But I found this benign act of graffiti with my son to be so fun.

See, I know that my kids know that I love them. That much is evident. But stuff like this shared tiny joke does something more. It lets my son know that I like him.

I really do.