Like all kids, Isabella loves to draw. Sometime last year, Harold came home from school one day and I showed him the latest family picture that Isabella had made and hung on our fridge.
"She's always smiling - that's a real good thing," was Harold's response.
I'd seen so many drawings that I hadn't really stopped to pay too much attention to them but he was right. All of Isabella's drawings were always happy ones.... all her figures had big crooked smiles. I found a drawing she made once of me screaming with a big slash across it. She had hung it in her room to show that "no screaming was allowed." Even in that picture, I had a huge smile on my face. Obviously, I don't scream with a smile on my face but when I thought about all those crooked smiles it made me feel good. It feels good to know that your child feels loved and happy.
Yesterday, Isabella drew the following picture and it just broke my heart. Her first sad face, a picture of her moving away.
"She's always smiling - that's a real good thing," was Harold's response.
I'd seen so many drawings that I hadn't really stopped to pay too much attention to them but he was right. All of Isabella's drawings were always happy ones.... all her figures had big crooked smiles. I found a drawing she made once of me screaming with a big slash across it. She had hung it in her room to show that "no screaming was allowed." Even in that picture, I had a huge smile on my face. Obviously, I don't scream with a smile on my face but when I thought about all those crooked smiles it made me feel good. It feels good to know that your child feels loved and happy.
Yesterday, Isabella drew the following picture and it just broke my heart. Her first sad face, a picture of her moving away.
It's a letter to her friends and says, "Dear friends, sorry I couldn't tell you that I was moving to Dallas. Love, Isabella 9 Jimenez" (the number 9 is her student number). She asked that I make lots of copies so that we can mail them out. When I asked her what she meant, she said that it made her too sad to tell anyone she was moving so she decided to write a letter instead.
For the most part, Isabella seems to be excited about the move but like the rest of us, she's going to miss her home and friends. And while I know that there are millions of kids who have drawn sad faces for reasons much worse than a family move, this first little frown just makes me sad.
For the most part, Isabella seems to be excited about the move but like the rest of us, she's going to miss her home and friends. And while I know that there are millions of kids who have drawn sad faces for reasons much worse than a family move, this first little frown just makes me sad.
1 comment:
Well that's just sad. What a sweet girl to want you to mail her letter to her friends.
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