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Dina Draws Her Worry

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

Dina's mother is going into the hospital for a small operation, and Dina can't stop thinking about it.

"It's routine," says Totty. "Mommy will be home in two days."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"The doctors are very good. She'll be fine."

But Dina's tummy is in knots. At school, she can't focus on her reading. At home, she paces from room to room. She doesn't want to talk. If she opens her mouth, she is afraid she'll cry.

On Tuesday, Morah Shaina hands out blank paper. "Today we'll draw something that's on your mind. It doesn't have to be pretty. It can be anything."

Dina stares at the page. What is on her mind? She picks up a black crayon and makes a dark scribble in the middle of the page, round and round, until it looks like a storm cloud.

She adds gray. Then purple. Then she makes a big dark shape beneath the cloud, and a tiny figure in the corner, small and alone.

When she finishes, she looks at it. It is messy and dark, but it looks exactly like how she feels.

Morah Shaina comes by. She looks at the page for a moment, quietly. "That's a powerful picture," she says. "Can you tell me about it?"

Dina's throat tightens. "It's a cloud. A big worry cloud."

"What is it about?"

"My mother is going to the hospital. I'm scared."

Morah Shaina kneels down. "Thank you for telling me. That sounds really hard."

Dina's eyes fill up. "I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to cry."

"It's okay to cry. Feelings need somewhere to go. You put yours on the page. That's a great way to start."

"Does it make it go away?"

"Not exactly. But it makes it lighter. A worry that's inside is heavy. A worry on paper is something we can look at."

Dina looks at her drawing. The cloud doesn't look as scary on paper. It is just a big, scribbly cloud.

"Could you add something?" asks Morah Shaina. "What would help the little girl feel safer?"

Dina thinks. She picks up a yellow crayon. She draws a bright sun peeking out from behind the cloud. Then a house with a warm window. Then a figure in the doorway, with arms outstretched.

"Who's that?"

"Totty. He's waiting for her."

"And the little girl?"

Dina draws a line, from the girl to the house. "She's walking home."

"That's lovely," says Morah Shaina. "Would you like to show your father?"

That evening, Dina hands the drawing to Totty. She tells him everything, the knots in her stomach, the cloud, the little figure.

Totty hugs her. He has tears in his eyes, too. "I'm worried too, sweetheart. But we'll get through it together."

They tape the drawing to the fridge. Every time Dina walks by, she looks at the sun.

Two days later, Mommy comes home, tired but smiling, with a bandage and a bouquet of flowers.

"Mommy!"

"I'm home, my love."

On the fridge, Mommy sees the drawing. She looks at it for a long time. "Who drew this?"

"I did."

"It's beautiful," says Mommy.

Dina hugs her tight. She feels her heart go quiet, like a cloud that has finally floated away.