14 Aug Pinterest Pressure

I often think to myself, “One of these days I’m going to look up some charming ideas on Pinterest and spend the day with my son Henry making bumblebees out of pool noodles and painting every surface in the house with chalkboard paint.” I place high value on fostering creativity and upcycling while you do it.

“It goes so fast,” everyone keeps saying. I know. Time is flying by. He’ll be growing a mustache tomorrow. He might already have one.

It’s working mother’s lament, simply not being able to be everywhere at once, but the ever-present hot coals of Mom Guilt are fueled by social media and fanned into flame by the Internet’s endless chasm of craft ideas.

Not only do I feel overwhelmed by the fact that I will never be able to remember the 100 clever uses for neon colored pipe cleaners, but I also receive thoughtful periodic notifications that my friends have posted a link to “29 Handprint Art Projects For Kids” on Facebook and tagged me.

So far I’ve plastered our kitchen with finger-painted murals, but I’m going to run out of wall space sooner or later. So then I get to beat down the feelings that come with throwing away 29 handprint art projects.

If I won the lottery, I’d create a museum of all the precious flowers made out of Q-tips and backyard leaf collages that I’m sure to acquire as years go by.

Whenever I do actually spend some time doing something creative, like handing Henry some crayons (out of the box, rather than melted and hand-shaped into butterflies) and paper (from the printer, not via blender full of newspaper), I post photos immediately to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to document for everyone in the world that I am, in fact, one of the crafty moms.

Which, of course, is why I’m telling you about it now.

Let’s all just assume from here on out that I’ve pinned the ways to use a paper plate to make a jaunty hat, Easter basket, ladybug puppet and real working aquarium complete with live fish — and that I have already lovingly shared the experience with Henry.

Maybe the trick is to market his art so that it can adorn other people’s walls.

Fine art collectors of the greater Glens Falls region, I know a budding artist who will make as many decoupaged coffee cans as you can buy.

This Family Time column originally ran in the Glens Falls Chronicle on August 14, 2014.

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