It’s a weekend. It’s raining buckets outside. Your bored five-year-old daughter is seconds away from painting a new Picasso on the living room wall. You’re working home on a take-home project so you don’t notice until she puts a long red streak across your white paint.

You lunge away from your desk and wrestle the paint set out of her hands. It’s an epic struggle. She’s strong for a five-year-old.

You finally get the paint set. But then her lips pucker and she sniffs. She’s so bored!

Then you remember, you had bought something for just such a rainy day. You dig around in the back of the closet, one ear open for the chaos your daughter is ready to spring, until you find: the boots! They’re blank and boring, but they won’t be for long.

You hold them out to your daughter. “Do you want to paint your boots?”

“Paint my boots?!” Her eyes are wide and her mouth is open in shock. You’re not supposed to paint on boots. But boots are way better for painting on than walls.

“Yes, paint your wellies. See, it’s a kit!” It’s a beautiful kit, with brushes and a non-toxic paint set, and two blank boots just ready for paint on.

Together you get out the paints and the brushes. You help her as she paints her favorite pink bunny character, Gigi, surrounded by unnaturally colored flowers. She tells you that she’s been learning about colors at preschool. She dabs a bit of paint on your nose. You hand her the brushes as she needs them. She pretends she a doctor.

“Tiny brush, stat!”

You realize, as you set the boots by the heater to dry, that you would’ve missed this precious half-hour with your daughter if you hadn’t decided to paint her wellies.