writing on the wall (and the piano, and the door...)

My school-age children don't like to write. (I have heaved many a sigh over this.) They are decent story-creators, but ask them to write one of their ideas down and it's like you just asked them to peel a bowl of grapes. So imagine my surprise (and dismay) when I came across the following writing samples:














(In case it's difficult to see, "H A" is scratched into the lacquer on the piano, and "mom is great" is written in pencil on the door.)

I have a pretty good idea of the culprits - our little Bee's favorite letters to write are "A" and "H", and Stuntman left a pointy arrowhead necklace he bought on his class field trip within her reach. As for the other graffiti, it was discovered on the door in what used to be Flip's room but is now dh's office. We tried painting over it, but as you can see, it remains. It looks like it says "mom is great", but it also looks like "great" might not have been the first adjective of choice. I can't make out what the crossed-out word is, but I have a scenario in my head that explains it. It plays out like this: Flip got sent to his room for some type of infraction, got mad at Mom for sending him, and started to write about his feelings (!) on his bedroom door. Then he thought better of it and crossed out whatever missive he initially wrote, and put "great" instead, remembering that Mom might actually see the work. This may be far from the true story, but inventing it was fun. What makes me laugh is that in my scenario, he ignores the fact that writing on doors is also an infraction, but I guess if you're going to break a rule, flatter your mother while you're doing it. Whatever the reason, I had to take a picture.

Maybe I shouldn't complain about my kids not liking to write anymore.