My daughter Yv had submitted a drawing about a month ago to a contest sponsored by a local magazine called Carolina Parent. The contest, “TV-Turnoff Week”, urged kids to unplug from their televisions and spend some more time outdoors!

Yesterday my wife showed me the drawings that were selected, and unfortunately Yv’s was not among them. With tearful eyes, I was able to follow the avalanche of emotions going through her mind… Obviously, frustration and disappointment are not new emotions to me, but seeing it happening to someone still so innocent and unexperienced made me think really hard. Is it possible that after banging your head on the wall so many times have taught us to “camufflage” our emotions so people can’t see how fragile we are?

A few words of encouragement and a tissue later, she was already thinking about her next drawing for the next contest. It made me think about those days of my childhood, when life got so complicated that only my mother’s lap could put me at ease. Those days when my favorite sanctuary was my room, surrounded by my Monteiro Lobato (Brazilian author) and Jules Verne books, and my Fort Apache (old Western game set… think Lego)!

I took a good look at the winning drawings and couldn’t help but think Yv’s was much better! :)