Guilty of Not Following Her Heart

Karen, a single never-married thirty-year old attorney has a four-year old daughter, whom she just picked up from her parents' home after another all-day affair in court.

Like every Thursday, Karen took her daughter, Anna, to McDonald's for dinner, which was a very special mother-daughter bonding time. Karen ordered a salad for her and a kid's meal for Anna. To Anna's delight, the kid's meal came with some crayons. While they were eating, Anna turned over the paper trayliner and began to draw a circle with some numbers just inside the perimeter of the circle. Instead of staring out the window like she usually did, Karen looked at what Anna was drawing.

"Whatcha drawin' sweetie?" Karen asked. "A clock," Anna said. "Are you sure it's a clock? It's got more than twelve numbers in the circle." "I know, Mommy. It's a clock for you. You said there's not enough time in the day."

Tears formed in Karen's eyes.

"Why are you crying, Mommy?" asked Anna. "There isn't enough time in the day, sweetheart. You and I have to make some more time ? time for each other," said Karen. "I didn't know that you liked to draw so much." "Oh I do, Mommy. Gramma lets me draw anytime I want to," said Anna. "She does?" "Yep. We went to the bookstore today and she bought me a coloring book." "So that's what was in that bag. You've got a good grandma, honey." "I know. She told me that YOU used to like to draw, too. When you were a little girl." "That's right," Karen said softly and was not sure if Anna heard her. "I DID used to draw a lot and do a lot of sketches," she spoke in normal tone. "Sketches?" asked Anna "Oh, sketches. Sketches are drawings with pencils." "Can we do some sketches at home?" "Why of course. Tell you what. When we get home, I'm gonna look for some sketches that I used to do and show you." "Okay," said Anna excitedly.

When they finished dinner and got home, Anna showed her mother the coloring book that her grandmother had bought her. While Karen was looking for her sketches, Anna showed came to Karen's room every time she finished with coloring a page. Karen gave her daughter kisses, praise and encouragement every time Anna showed her another page of her work.

Karen finally found her old sketches and went into the kitchen where Anna was drawing. To Karen's surprise, there were drawings on the doors of the white cabinets. Anna had drawn on two kitchen cabinet doors.

"Isn't it pretty, Mommy?" asked Anna. Karen's jaw dropped. She was stunned and could not move for several seconds.

Anna finally broke the silence, "Gramma's kitchen is colorful. I want our kitchen to be colorful. Do you like it, Mommy?"

Karen backed into one of the kitchen walls and lowered her body to the ground until she was sitting on the floor. She cried profusely. Anna was confused why her mother was crying. When she showed her mother some of her work in her coloring book, her mother was happy and excited. Now, her mother is crying.

"You don't like it, Mommy?" Anna finally asked. Karen was finally able to talk, "No, sweetheart. I like your drawings. It's just that when I was a little girl, I did the same thing on gramma's walls." "Did she like it?" asked Anna. Karen was breathing deeply, almost hyper-ventilating and said, "She screamed at me." Karen was now breathing more normal. "She screamed at me," she said softly. "Why?" asked Anna. "Because I was supposed to color on the paper. I was supposed to follow the rules. I had messed up gramma's cabinets." "Did I mess up your cabinets?" "No, sweetheart," Karen said quickly. "Those cabinets needed some color. I want you to keep on drawing, okay? But I will get you some bigger drawing paper for you so you can make me some bigger pictures." "Wow! I will make the bigger pictures even prettier!" Anna said with anticipation. "How come you stopped drawing, Mommy?" Anna asked her Karen innocently. Karen took a deep breath and said. "Because I got shut down by what happened to me when I was about your age?" "Huh?" Anna asked confusingly. "I will explain it to you when you are older, sweetheart. Keep on drawing in the meantime."

North Notes is a writing and researching company, which primarily helps writers gain focus, motivation, remove mental blocks that help to unblock the writing process. EVERYONE who writes has been stuck at some point in his or her career. You do not have to accept these mind-boggling roadblocks!

http://www.northnotes.com

(586) 216-7516

---

My Dads Secrets

From the book Spider's Night on the BoomI've only begun... Read More

The Truth Behind Having Children

In the beginning, having children was just a byproduct of... Read More

Babys First Month at a Glance

Congratulations on your new baby! You have just brought your... Read More

Peer Pressure - Five Ways to Help Teenagers Beat Peer Influence

Young people generally want to fit in to their various... Read More

Aquini Potty Training Dolls - A Great Tool For Potty Training!

Corolle Paul or Emma Drink-and-Wet SET potty dollsThis is the... Read More

My Teenaged Parents

Frankly, as a single parent of young children, I struggled.... Read More

How To Teach Your Children Love

I was in the life insurance sales industry for over... Read More

Shopping with Children

Is your weekly shopping trip with the kids an absolute... Read More

7 Ways Busy Families Can Volunteer

Volunteering together is a fantastic way to spend time as... Read More

Top 5 Characteristics of Good Leadership to Instill in Our Home School Children

I am sure that this list can be jogged and... Read More

New Baby ? Relax and Become a Yummy Mummy

Lets face it becoming a mum is a bit of... Read More

What Values Are We Giving Our Children?

On a bright Sunday morning, a couple of weeks ago,... Read More

Raising Boys

The last decade has seen heightened interest in and awareness... Read More

Weathering Colic for New Parents

A common problem many times facing parents is Colic. Estimates... Read More

Parenting Your Teenager: Teens and Violence

I have a bit of a different response than most... Read More

Childrens Allowance

When we consider that the word allowance means, "allowing for,"... Read More

EEG Biofeedback Training as a Treatment Option for ADHD

The popularity of EEG Biofeedback Training continues to grow both... Read More

Overscheduled Kids

Time devoted the better part of an issue to it.... Read More

You Dont Need a Supernanny to Be an Active Parent

The hot new reality TV show "Nanny 911" has been... Read More

Top 10 Mistakes by New and Expectant Dads

From criticizing a spouse, to claming up about one's own... Read More

Kids, Chores & More

Are you a frustrated parent who sometimes finds it is... Read More

Stop, Look, Listen! Steps to Better Parenting Communication

As a parent is seems that the majority of your... Read More

10 Reasons Why You Need to Ditch the Super Mom Syndrome

For any of you Moms out there that are doing... Read More

A Night Out For Mom & Dad

Is your babysitter watching the kids and your k9 family... Read More

Puberty - Get Ready to Play the Puberty Game

Puberty can be a difficult time for children. Not quite... Read More

Spelling Games

The following spelling games can be used by parents to... Read More

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: What is Impulsivity?

Impulsivity is one of the hallmarks of people with Attention... Read More

Educational Jigsaw Puzzles, How Educational Are They?

Many companies advertise their products as being educational. How much... Read More

More than Mom and Dad

Love, love, love. It makes the world go round. It... Read More

Helping Your Child Develop

Here are some things that you can do to help... Read More

Are Your Kids Driving You Crazy? How Character Building Charts Keep You Sane

Who lives in your house? Are they driving you "crazy?"... Read More

The Three Best Alternative Treatments for ADHD

There are a LOT of alternative treatments for sale out... Read More

Getting Through to Your Teenager

Have you ever watched your teenager make a mistake (that... Read More