So I was at a coffee shop this morning (after spending 45 minutes at a lottery getting my daughter into preschool--PRESCHOOL!!!), and a painting caught my eye. It depicts a little girl lounging on the grass outside a house. Something about the angle of the home, the way it wraps around the girl, makes me think she is tucked away in a favorite spot of hers. Perhaps she is hiding or in a place she goes to pretend. With her in the painting is a golden retriever and the girl has her left arm lazily thrown over the dog's coat. The childs knees are tucked up to her chest and in her right hand she clutches a candy bar. Did she steal it from her mother's secret stash? Did she run away to this sacred spot to devour it in solitude? And why doesn't the dog snatch it away, you wonder? Because the dogs mouth is full as well! Hanging from its jaws is a bra! Yes, a bra. These two creatures, child and pet, are both partners in an unholy alliance. They are both thieves. They are both on the lam. They are both content, even happy.
What does this picture say to you? It speaks volumes in memory to me. I remember the so-called secret spots of my childhood homes. I remember the things I thought I was sneaking. And those memories are as beautiful to me today as the action was at the time.
So I was at a coffee shop this morning (after spending 45 minutes at a lottery getting my daughter into preschool--PRESCHOOL!!!), and a painting caught my eye. It depicts a little girl lounging on the grass outside a house. Something about the angle of the home, the way it wraps around the girl, makes me think she is tucked away in a favorite spot of hers. Perhaps she is hiding or in a place she goes to pretend. With her in the painting is a golden retriever and the girl has her left arm lazily thrown over the dog's coat. The childs knees are tucked up to her chest and in her right hand she clutches a candy bar. Did she steal it from her mother's secret stash? Did she run away to this sacred spot to devour it in solitude? And why doesn't the dog snatch it away, you wonder? Because the dogs mouth is full as well! Hanging from its jaws is a bra! Yes, a bra. These two creatures, child and pet, are both partners in an unholy alliance. They are both thieves. They are both on the lam. They are both content, even happy.
3 comments:
Dang, I didn't have a good secret spot - my parents always found me!
I didn't either, but I remember feeling hidden. You know what I mean?
I didn't have a secret spot but I did spend a lot of time in my Nan's garden digging to China.
All my very best,
Simone
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