NO- Angela’s word.

While I was looking for a short story for the letter N for the #A-Z April 2020 challenge, I found this beautiful small story from  Best seller  book - Chicken Soup for the Women’s Soul written by Barbara K Bassett.

 

When Angela was very young; age two or three or so. Her mother and her father taught her never to say NO.  They taught her that she must agree with everything they said. And if she din’t, she was spanked and sent upstairs to bed.

So Angela grew up to be a most agreeable child; she was never angry and she was never wild; she always shared, she always cared, she never picked up a fight. And no matter what her parents said, she thought that they were right.

Angela the angel did very well in school, and as you might imagine, she followed every rule, her teachers said she was so well bred, so quiet and so good. But how Angela felt inside they never understood.

Angela had lots of friends, who liked her for her smile; they knew she was the kind of gal who ‘d go that extra mile; and even when she had a cold and really needed rest, when someone asked her if she’d help she always answered Yes.

When Angela was thirty three, she was a lawyer’s wife. She had a home and family, and nice suburban life, she had a little girl of four and a little boy of nine. And if someone asked her how she felt, she always answered “Fine”.

But one cold night near Christmas time, when her family was in bed. She lay awake as awful thoughts went spinning through her head.  She didn’t know why, and she didn’t know how, but she wanted her life to end. So she begged whoever put her here, to take her back again.  And then she heard from deep inside, a voice that was soft and low; it only said a single word and the word it said was … NO

From that moment on Angela knew exactly what she had to do. Her life depended on that word, so this is what her loved one’s heard.

No I just don’t want to

No I don’t agree

No that’s yours to handle

No that’s wrong for me

No I wanted something else

No, that hurts a lot

No, I am tired, and No I am busy

And No I’d rather Not.

Well, her family found it shocking; her friends reacted with surprise; but Angela was different, you could see it in her eyes, for they’ve held no meek submission, since that night three years ago when Angela the Angel got permission to say NO.

Today Angela is a person first, then a mother and a wife. She knows where she begins and ends, she has a separate life, she has talents and ambitions, she has feelings, needs, and goals. She has money in the bank and an opinion at the polls. And to her boy and girl she says “It’s nice when we agree. But if you can’t say NO, you will never grow. To be all you are meant to be; because I know I am sometimes wrong and because I love you so, you will always be my angels even when you tell me NO.”

Thanks for reading this post,  I would like to hear from you.

Hope you are #staying home and #Staying Safe…and taking all the precautions to protect your self and everyone else around you.

Be Blessed & Be Happy!