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!
Brilliant Genevive thank you. We do ourselves a favour and others when we say no and let it be known that this doesn't mean being unkind or mean. It's a hard lesson for many of to learn... xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan- glad that you found this brilliant. True we all learn it the hard way. It took many years for me to understand as I used to think that this is being unkind.
ReplyDeleteLovely story! saying No does not come easily to us. But when we do learn to say it, we get to take control of our life and that's the best gift we can give to ourselves!
ReplyDeleteThank you Shilpa :) agree thats the best gift for oneself, and what a relief to be free from within..
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