Or, at least that is what my son seemed to be set on completing with his most recent artistic endeavor this weekend. I was roused from my work by my wife’s stern voice instructing my son to tell — no, to show — me what he had done. Those of you who have had a three year old in your house at any time are probably already beginning to chuckle, and I assure you that your foreshadowing of enjoyment at my expense will not be disappointed.

I stepped out my front door to see blue. By blue, I don’t mean a blue tint on something; I mean deep, dark, thick blue patches scrawled over almost every surface imaginable. My three and a half year old had decided to exercise his creativity and desire to live in a blue house by coloring it blue himself. I spent the next two hours scrubbing blue sidewalk chalk off white-washed wood pillars, our front door, the garage supports, our brick wall, vinyl siding, garage floor and even the hood of my car. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper by the time I finally got everything back to a somewhat presentable state. What really was amazing to me was the amount of real estate he had been able to cover in a mere five minutes of unsupervised time. After having to sit with me through my entire cleaning ordeal, when I finally called my son into my office to discuss his little mishap, it couldn’t help but chuckle to hear him say, “I’ll do anything you say, Daddy!”

Ah, the joys of parenthood.