Thoughts About Silly Putty

This is a GUEST POST by Leslie Crane, aka Classical Mom, our resident representative of linear minded, non-Sizzling moms who share a life with those of us who are Sizzlers.

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Silly Putty. Just what is so silly about it?

Silly Putty is a big deal in our house. It is a Very Important Thing. Like many of your children, my oldest son has a serious case of “fiddle fingers” and he loves – no, needs – to have something in his hands much of the time. For him, a wad of Silly Putty does the job pretty well.

Allow me to pause for a moment and tell you…

Five Random Facts About Silly Putty:

1) It takes exactly 3 hours and one bamboo skewer to remove Silly Putty from the keys of a TV remote control.

2) No amount of bamboo skewers will remove it from a fuzzy white bathrobe.

3) Silly Putty also sticks to hair. Shampoo and a fine-toothed comb will remove Silly Putty from hair.

4) Silly Putty can be removed easily from shiny sweat pants.

5) It is the most addictive thing in the world.

So what have I learned about Silly Putty? Well, a lot, since for some reason I keep giving it to my son, who, bless his heart, can NOT resist sticking it in remote controls, on his head and on his clothing. It’s so foreign to my way of thinking that I literally do not believe he would actually find one more thing in which to stick Silly Putty… but of course he does. I am not a limit-tester in any way and to be honest my brain doesn’t ever tell me to stick something into or onto something else. Especially after I’ve already tried it with less-than-spectacular results.

I have to admit I am exhausted yet intrigued by that mental process. I have asked my son about 4,738 times, “What exactly were you thinking right before you rubbed Silly Putty into your pillow?” Each time the answer is a little different. I still don’t get it. I never will.

Insert heavy *sigh* here.

What I do know, aside from the fact that I need to buy this child several more pairs of shiny sweat pants, is that I probably seem every bit as strange to him. I’m so boring! I think one thought at a time, beginning to end. I never wander or ramble or drift or zigzag. I yawn a lot. I sigh a lot. I say things like, “Just a minute, I have to finish this first.” I’m sure he thinks I have absolutely no imagination and no fun.

A few days ago I had a very sweet and serious conversation with my five-year-old. It was about wedgies. Yep. Wedgies. And I came to the conclusion that God seldom gives us what we expect, but usually gives us what we need. As a linear thinker, someone who is goal-oriented and often stressed out about getting things done, a little wedgie talk is good – no, necessary – for my soul.

I still don’t think Silly Putty is very silly. But I’ll keep buying it. Somebody here needs it.

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Leslie Crane is a busy homeschooler, photographer, freelance radio producer and a dabbler in writing.  She is known to fans of Carol Barnier’s writings as the Classical Mom in a Vaudeville House, after she wrote a passionate letter outlining her trials as a lover of peace and order living in a house full of chaos.

Leslie really is a Classical Mom; she is a formally-trained operatic soprano, a former music teacher and a current creator of classical music programming for public radio.  She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two sons, whom she homeschools (still holding out hope that someday they will come to tolerate if not appreciate classical music).

Her photography and occasional musings can be found at: http://blog.lesliecranephotography.com

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