“Hey, look, I just painted this…”
My two little kids looked at the picture on my phone. It was of a painting I just completed.
Girl: “It’s just grass.”
I laughed.
Boy: “I’ll buy it.”
Me: “Cool. How much will you pay?”
Boy: “$100.”
Me: “Holy-moly! That’s a shit-load of money!”
Boy: “Yep! I like it.”
Me: “What do you like about it?”
Boy: “I don’t know. Maybe the colour.”
Girl: “I buy your grass for $50.”
Me: “Hahaha… But I’m not painting grass.”
Boy: “Then what are you painting?”
Me: “A feeling.”
I wondered if I should give it a shot.
Me: “Ok, how do you paint sadness?”
Both: [blank look]
Me: “You can’t paint sadness, because it’s not something you can see. But you use something to show the sadness.”
I continued.
“Like, you can’t paint the wind. But you can paint flying leaves to show the wind.”
Boy: “So what were you painting?”
Me: “Well… I was feeling kinda lonely. So I painted a big piece of land.”
Boy: “I don’t see anything.”
Me: “Exactly. When you’re lonely and sad, it feels like there’s nothing around you.”
Girl: “How do you paint ‘Angry’?”
Me: “Angry? Hmm…”
I showed a monster face, and roared.
Boy: “Fire!”
Me: “Yes! Burning trees! Lots and lots of burning trees!”
Boy: “Haha! RAGE!”
Me: “Crushed buildings!”
Girl: “Awesome!!”
Boy: “Like war!!! Fighting and killing!!!”
Girl: “Bombs!!!”
Boy: “Fire-breathing dragon!”
Girl: “I bomb your dragon!!!”
We laughed out loud. The streets were empty, but the wind was cool, and the sun was shining.
Me: “Guys, I kinda forgot what Angry feels like.”
