Welcome to the Araradaro

"Color! Color! We want to Color!" chant the Verbalist and Muralist together in syncopation.

The Muralist stuck with her colorbook but the Verbalist had grander schemes in mind.

"Mom," he said with the air of one imparting a grave declaration, "I MUST have a blank piece of paper." Blank paper duly dispersed I went back to the news.

"Jingle Bells, jingle bells, hmmm hmmm hmmm THE WAY!!!!!" cheerfully pipes the Muralist as she colors. "Hmmm dooo dooo dooo tooo dooo SLEIGH! Jingle Bells!"

Jingle Bells invades the news. A 1995 law known as the Soloman BELLLS! Hearings continue in the JINGLE Hussien. I give up the news. I begin to close the computer when the Verbalist cuts across the endless refrain of Jingle Bells with a request.

"How do you spell Santa, Mom?" followed by requests for the words: Batman, Daddy, baby, pirates, dog, candy, and panda."

"Need any more help spelling?" I ask full of expectation.

"No," he replies bouncing on his toes a little. "I am going to work on my own words now."

I try to return to the news, Jingle Bells has ceased and the muralist is now a ninja dinosaur. STOMP, STOMP "Roarrrrr! Highya!" Stomp, Stomp "Roarrrrrr! Take that bad guy! Dinosaur techniques!"

"Mom," interrupts the Verbalist again, "read my words." I look, deciphering the sprawling letters of a four year old, A-R-A-R-A-D-A-R-O.

"What is an araradaro?" I ask.

"My workshop, where I make contraptions to catch Santa." I look on the opposite side of the paper where diagrammed out is a contraption to catch Santa, landmarks labeled. Baby, Batman, Daddy ('s chair), Pirates (ship), Panda everything that is the constellation of importance in my son's life, all have a part to play. Welcome to the Araradaro.