“Difficulty is inevitable. Drama is a choice.” – Anita Renfroe
My daughter has a flair for the dramatic. I don’t know where she gets it from…
Whether it’s wildly gesticulating arms and head tilts or great big crocodile tears, she can tell a story or announce a slight with all the fanfare of a daytime soap star.
There are times when I find it entertaining, and times when I wish she would just take a breath and realize it’s not that big of a deal. She recently ran to me in tears to tell me her brother had said that one day when she gets a phone, he is going to delete all her apps. Ah, sibling fights for the new generation.
But what I want to tell her when she cries over ridiculous, toothless threats like that one, or that her favorite pajamas are being washed, is that she doesn’t need to make such a big deal out of little deals.
Her dramatic outlook makes minor situations so much larger than they are, and it makes me wonder what will happen when real struggles come into her life. Will she react with grace under fire, or will she crumble and cry?
I don’t have an answer for that yet, but what I do have is time to work with her and help her develop her ability to handle the difficulties that life will inevitably hand her. I also have the opportunity to offer her an example of how to deal without drama.
Not that I’m without some drama myself. I may have thrown a few wild arm movements and crocodile tears around a time or two. Or twenty. But who’s counting?
Life isn’t easy and we can’t avoid the rough patches all the time. But we can cut out the unnecessary dramatics that make certain situations worse, and handle things in a practical and loving way.
Instead of wringing our hands uselessly in front of us, we can clasp them together and say a prayer for strength and wisdom for whatever circumstance life has placed us in.
As for my daughter, the tears dried when she was told about an amazing phone feature called a lock screen. Let’s hope all her dramatics are so easily calmed.
Have a blessed Monday!
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