The Elephant

Riley drew this at school.

I think it’s an elephant.  And if it is an elephant, I just might have a little Picasso on my hands.  Not that I’m surprised, of course, because Riley has always shown tremendous artistic potential.

See?

“Riley, is this an elephant?” I asked.

“Yes!” he said.

Oh, wow.  I have a real artist on my hands.  Note to self:  Sign Riley up for an art class!  Make sure the curriculum is challenging enough his mature-beyond-his-years drawing style!  Provide him with plenty of time and space and the best-of-the-best art supplies to hone his craft!  Research colleges and universities with exceptional art programs!  Find local galleries to showcase his groundbreaking work!  Contact Ellen DeGeneres, the Today Show, and The Huffington Post!

Riley came home from school that day with a whole pile of drawings.  After the amazeballs elephant, I couldn’t wait to see what was next. “Show me another one,” I said enthusiastically as my heartbeat quickened.

“Riley, what is this?” I asked.

“A big bathtub with a big booty man inside,” he said.

Oh.

“What else did you draw?”

“A big grabber thing that grabs everything in the whole wide world.”

Huh.

“Anything else?”

“A dragon growing fire round and round to his back and he says, “Ahhh, there’s fire on my back!”

Last but certainly not least…

“A Ninja thing.”

Hmph.

It’s quite possible – in fact, it’s quite likely – that the Picasso gene skipped our family.  However, we may have bred a mad scientist (and, if so, he gets it from Daddy).  In any case, we’ll always have the elephant.