Mommy Behind Bars

At class today, I had my weekly therapy session.  During this time, we moms get together and laugh about how similar kids always are.  While the children ran around playing in the field, we moms patted each other on the back to reassure ourselves that all will be OK.

Today I shared the story of my 7 year old's personal passive agressive style. Style is a good word since she has her own flair.

I don't remember what I did, but on this particular day, I upset her.  As I typed at the computer she came to me to show me her artwork. The drawing was titled "Famlee."  Ok, we need to work on spelling, but at least she can sound out words.

Every member of the family had their name surrounded by a little personal picture. As she showed me the picture, she studied my face. I guess I didn't give her the response she wanted.

So she pointed to my name. I told her I liked it. She pointed to the bars through my name and explained that while other members of the family had their names in lights or were awarded blue ribbons, I was in jail.

I smiled. In my head, I knew what was going on, but I told her how beautiful it was. To show I wasn't sore, I asked if she wanted me to hang it on the wall. That was the last straw.

She shrugged her shoulders, told me this wasn't her best work, and threw the drawing away. To her, the overture had gone unnoticed. After she left, I fished that drawing out of the trash. Having made me laugh so hard, I want to have this memory to show her in another 15 years.