home improvements

One of the things I have slowly realized that as a mom to a, um, persistent  child is that I cannot be a perfectionist when it comes to home projects. Rain Dragon insists on helping and, since really I am doing these projects to make her happy, I have learned to embrace my child assistant. 

A prime example is my our water barrel project. Not content to have a plain brown water barrel, I decided it should be decorated and designed it according to Rain Dragon's wishes ("Totoro!" she said, "and soot sprites! And ducks!").

However, she was not content just to be the design inspiration. She wanted hands-on work:

as well as collaboration:

can you tell what she painted?

 She was quite proud:

 "I paint ducks the best," she says.

And, I admit, she has every right to be.  When it was all done, my brief moments of frustration/disappointment at not creating my original design disappeared. Because, now, I  think it's beautiful--more beautiful than if I had painted it all myself perfectly.

What do you think?