Mother's Day - Part 2

Since we are quarantined for Mother's Day this year, I was limited on options for a gift for my wife. And with Troy being old enough to participate this year, I wanted him to have a part in it too. So, buying something was out, because that would require shopping. I suppose I could have attempted to get her something online, but truth be told, that just didn't seem personal enough. Besides, I honestly think I set the bar too high last year with the pendant of his footprint from when he was born. I mean how do you top that?!

So, I released my mind to its creative exploration and decided to write my wife a poem. But not just any poem, it had to be something from Troy's perspective, since technically she's his mother, not mine. So, I embarked to think of all of the interactions they have together, focusing on the things that seem to bring him the most joy. Then, it was a matter of setting it down in rhyming verse, which took me a couple of weeks to perfect.

But it still wasn't quite right yet. It needed some kind of presentation that made it even more special. So, I took an outline of Troy's hand and cut it out of two pieces of construction paper. Then, I interlaced them together to make a sort of heart. I glued this to a black background. Now, I had my backdrop, but the dark background would wash out the words of the poem. So, I had the idea to transcribe the poem onto butcher paper, which would provide a whitish quality to help set off the writing while also providing a translucence so you could still see the background through the paper. The whole effect was exactly how I imagined, and Troy seemed satisfied with the result as well.