I like to doodle, not because it’s a skill I possess, but because my hands seem to belong to another body, gesticulating wildly when I speak. Doodling sometimes contains them.
The other day, my mom, dad and I were having our nightly, pre-dinner game of cribbage. While waiting for my mom to deal me a stellar hand, I doodled.
Not far from us, Vivian and William stood two inches from the TV, mesmerized by an around-the-clock Sponge Bob marathon.
I started doodling the first letters of their names: V and W. Then I connected my scribbles, making a stick figure of sorts.

I played my cards, which contained nothing stellar, only a pair of eights and a couple of throwaway cards.
When it was Dad’s turn to shuffle and deal, I doodled some more, this time with intention.
I decided I’d attempt to doodle a stick figure using only the first initials of the four people in my family: my husband, my twins, and I. A family logo of sorts.
So I picked up my pencil and started doodling a C, L, V, and W.
Because I’m a bit dense, I didn’t realize where this was going until I finished.

I looked up at Mom and Dad. They were sorting their cards, deciding what to throw in Dad’s crib. They sensed my stare, or maybe my mischief. They looked at my drawing.
“Well,” I said, “it’s definitely a guy.”
And we burst out laughing. There I was, a 40-year-old woman subtly blushing in front of her 70-year-old parents.
“Your cut,” I said to my mom. She cut the cards and my dad flipped over the Queen of Hearts. In the background, the TV blared with Plankton attempting to steal the Krabby Patty formula.
A summer holiday vignette.
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Any doodlers or closet Pictionary players out there?
You would have made a great cave artist Leanne 🙂
Fun post, perfect for Friday relaxation.
Do you think I was born 30,000 years too late? 😉
Very cute! 🙂
🙂
A great ‘porn’ cave artist for sure! LOL 🙂
BTW, totally jealous of the nightly cribbage game. I did that with my folks & brothers growing up but Doc doesn’t like the game at all…poor me.
I love crib (have been playing it since I was 6, which should mean I’m good, but doesn’t). My DH doesn’t play either….
Sponge Bob is playing in the background as I write this! My hubby and I play cribbage fairly often – it’s one of many games that we like to play when we can grab a cocktail hour before dinner. We’re game addicts (so much so that he designed – and just published – a game with BlueSquare. Squee!). Have you tried Chicago Cribbage? http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33620/chicago-cribbage
Happy scribbling!
Kathy, I haven’t tried Chicago Cribbage. But I’m going to! Can’t believe Sponge Bob was playing as you commented. (Insert theme music from The Twilight Zone, or SpongeBob Square Pants).
That’s a hoot, and well-told. thanks for the smile.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!
So glad mine isn’t the only one addicted to the SpongeBob marathon. I feel mommy guilt every time I hear the theme – I’m sure a gooood mommy (who is also a teacher) would play with her children or provide solid educational books and games for them to do 😉
Yes, the gooood mommy problem. I call that GMS: Guilty Mother Syndrome. I suffer from it.
Freud would have loved you.
You’re right. And you know what? I’m sitting on a post called Oedipus Wrecks. Tipping my had to Dr. Sigmund.
Ha! Well, we share artistic skill levels. And to think I put you in charge of casting a Harry Potter movie.
What’s wrong with Colin Firth and me playing all the parts?
Cue open-mouthed shock and uncontrolled giggling. I didn’t see that one coming.
… and now I’ve stepped smack into my own pile of double entrendre.
That was scrumptious, IYKWIM..
Blahhahaha. Great doodle!
Greatly funny, perhaps…
Haha, that’s awesome! I love how your family laughs with you. It’s a good thing you have other skills. 🙂
Can you tell I never had *any* art instruction? My students laugh at my whiteboard doodles all the time.
Awesome. I’m going to have to pull out some of my own doodling and see what’s hiding.
I love to draw. And autograph things. Phone messages in particular. Remember bubble letters? Imagine “The lawn guy called and said we have a potential beetle problem” in cartoon lettering.
Cartoon letters! Fantastic. I’d love to see some of those.
Maybe we need a handwriting blog post day. You know, we all know each other fairly well, but have never seen penmanship. We could limit it to 100 words to save our eyes…
Okay, you know I love me some unintentional stickman erection. And in front of your parents? Outstanding. 😉
Seriously. Truth is, I automatically erased the penis right away (sheepishly). But then I added it again. Hello, Bobbitt.
Hee, hee, heee……love it! I am lacking in the “artistic ability” area. Both of my parents can paint, draw and play an instrument. Me? I can spell. They are very proud.
Bet your parents are proud of you, too, despite Phallic Boy there.
Wow. Artistic parents. Ya, that’d be tough. I already call myself the milkman’s baby because I have long legs. My dad, though tall, is all back. My mom’s just normal.
Phallic Boy = funny.
Okay, now. Here I am at this highly spiritual residential program, in training to become a spiritual director and I decide to catch up on my email before heading to sleep. (They start REALLY early here…) and this is what I find?? SO glad I did – made me giggle (as loudly as possible when there are folks staying behind paper thin walls on either side of me). Love me some good doodling. And this was a wowzer. Thanks!
So, the spirit moved you? 😉
Sounds like a great program, Diana. Glad you enjoyed a laugh!
If you had cattle, that would make a heck of a brand. 🙂
Laughing…
This is something I would do. My parents wouldn’t appreciate it one bit. Hubs, on the other hand…
Very amusing! Well done.