Fan Art and Such...

One of the fun things about having my own home-grown manga artist around is the fact that from time to time, I get my very own fan art.

The Impertinent Daughter has been drawing and sketching since she was big enough to hold a crayon in her chubby little fist, and many were the hours that we spent lying on the floor, doodling and drawing on big 18 inch by 24 inch pads of newsprint. We drew dogs, cats, horses, people... and she soaked up technique like a little sponge. She kept at it, and soon was drawing characters from the stories we read to her, and then was drawing characters from her own stories that she made up to tell us.

Then she discovered comics.

I've got reams of comic strips she's drawn over the years. Some make no sense whatsoever, and others are wickedly funny.

Then she discovered anime and manga.

So now, I've got Impertinent Manga all over my desk and stuffed into three fat file folders (looks like I'll have to buy a couple more to hold it all), and sometimes, I feel like I'm going to end up swathed in a veritable paper cocoon of manga art. To make up for it, she sometimes asks me what I'd like her to draw, and sometimes, I have no idea, but other times, out of desperation, I'll suggest something, and she'll draw it.

And that's why I have Spock, from Star Trek in a carp suit...

And a very grumpy Dr. Rodney McKay from Stargate Atlantis...

Somewhere, probably stuffed in one of those file folders, is a drawing she did of her biology teacher this year, a man who bears an uncanny resemblance to Dr. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory on CBS. And when I find it, I'll scan it up and post it.

I love knowing that I'm raising the next generation of geeks! It's... totally awesome!!

Because your kids are sometimes just... incredibly cool...

You know, this whole raising kids gig has had its ups and downs. And anyone who has read this blog knows we have had our share of ups and downs! Sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, sometimes hysterical laugh inducing, and sometimes terrifying.

But you know what I think is the absolute coolest thing ever?

When your kids are old enough to start getting your jokes, to snort and laugh when you make obscure references that leave other people scratching their heads, because your kids really get it! It's like you become the coolest, most secret club ever, and you're automatically in!!

It is awesome, seriously.

When your kids are watching some of the same nerdy, goofy shows you watch, and see nothing wrong with it, and if their friends find out and make fun of it, they look at them like they're nuts and say, "But... it's the coolest thing ever and anyone who thinks otherwise is a loser!" And they make it stick!

It just... yeah, makes me smile all day long!

When the Impertinent Daughter drew the Spock fan art for me and now I've gotten her hooked on "Stargate Atlantis" and drew fan art for that, and then last night, we ordered Chinese takeout and sat in the living room watching a disk of "The Big Bang Theory," and it was just the most awesome thing ever! And I sat there on the floor by the Husbandly One's feet, looking around at my little family, watching them get the "Star Trek" references, and the comic book references, and I was suddenly just so happy!

It's one of those moments you just... kinda want to hold onto forever.