Happy Valentine's Day

Yes, indeed, Eeyore the Donkey rules.

I was half-tempted to post one of those cutesy-looking kitten pictures you find all over the infernalnet, but when my daughter presented this Valentine-themed, free-hand sketch of Eeyore this morning, I felt compelled to share.

While recovering from a nasty cough yesterday, she propped her Eeyore stuffies on her bed and went to town sketching this likeness. Something about the simplicity of this picture just grabbed me, because she usually likes to throw a lot of background imagery into her drawings. Eeyore is all about the simple things in life. He doesn't bother with too much detail and pageantry and flamboyance. I think she did a pretty good job capturing that essence.

At age 9, she's already developed a keen eye for basic shading principles, perspective and freehand expression. Surely, there's a level of frustration she experiences when she puts pencil to paper, as most budding young artists tend to struggle with their perfectionist tendencies. One thing is for certain, she's far and away ahead of the curve than I was at her age. It wasn't until I was 11 that I started to produce the kind of output she currently does. I never really pursued it seriously, so I didn't hone any of my artistic skills, but I think
Maddie can benefit from my experiences, or lack thereof. As long as she has the inclination to improve her skill-set, we'll happily foster the interest. Future blog posts will feature some of the work she's produced...we're really excited to share her artwork with everyone.

As for the remainder of this blog entry, I won't delve into a schmaltzy, treacly Valentine's soliloquy about love conquering all, blah, blah, blah. It's just not me. And if I break out in song today, it won't be a straight up rendition of classics like Nat King Cole's "L-O-V-E," Cole Porter's "True Love," Luther Vandross' "Always and Forever" or Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon." Don't get me wrong, I love those songs, but I can't sing them straight up without adding a Lounge Lizard element to the interpretation...I just don't have the pipes to do them justice. I'm more apt to belt out Lionel Ritchie or El DeBarge (because I'm annoying like that).

I will say this, though: My wife is perfect for me. And my daughter is a blessing, too. A dork like me shouldn't be so lucky to have Valentine sweethearts like them.