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I Just Need to be Sad By Tim Atkins

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sarah, all of eight years old. Sarah was normally a happy girl – she had great friends, loved school, loved her family, even her annoying older brother, and especially loved her pet kitty.

But, today, Sarah was sad. And her family just didn’t know what to do.

See, there had been a lot of things going on in the world that she had heard about, and it made her sad. She knew she was loved and was safe, but there were so many people out there that weren’t loved and didn’t feel safe. And it made her sad, just like it makes all of us sad too.

Her family and friends were determined to cheer her up though. They didn’t like seeing Sarah so sad. The first to try and cheer her up was her mother.

“Sarah, sweetie, I bought you a great big lollipop at the store! I thought it would bring a smile to your face.”

Sarah looked up at her mom and tried to smile, but it just wasn’t in her. Sarah’s mom could tell that the great big lollipop didn’t work. Sarah soon confirmed that, “Thanks mom, but I just need to be sad for a while.”

Sarah’s mom shook her head slightly. “Are you SURE Sarah?”

Sarah nodded, making the mom drop her head slightly. She let Sarah hold on to the lollipop and went back to cooking dinner. Sarah felt bad about disappointing her mom, but went back to her homework.

Next, her Dad came up to her with the biggest balloon she had ever seen. It was big and shaped like the sun, with a big smiley face on it. Sarah was certainly a balloon fan, something her father knew quite well.

Her Dad said, “I thought this might cheer you up Sarah! I know how much you like balloons! Here is the biggest balloon they had in the store. I though it would help you feel not so sad.”

Sarah looked up at her dad and tried to smile, but it still just wasn’t in her. Sarah’s dad could tell that the great big balloon didn’t work. Sarah soon confirmed that, telling her father the same thing she told her mother – “I just need to be sad for a while.”

Her dad asked, “Are you SURE?”

Sarah nodded, and her Dad went back to working in his office. Sarah now felt a little bad about disappointing both of her parents, but she went back to her homework.

Finally, her older brother tried to cheer her up. He brought her a big pair of fake plastic lips, that looked like a smile. He gave the pair of lips to Sarah and encouraged her to wear them.

“Sometimes when I’m feeling sad Sarah, it’s best to just ignore it and pretend your happy. Then, soon enough, if you smile enough, you start to feel happy again! Fake it till you make it, that’s what I like to say.”

Sarah wanted to take her older brother’s advice, and wore the lips. But she shook her head, and her older brother could see it in her eyes that Sarah was still sad. She took out the lips and told her brother the same thing she told her parents – “I just need to be sad for a while.”

Her older brother nodded, and headed back to his room.

Soon, it was dinnertime. The rest of her family looked worried at dinnertime, not used to Sarah being sad. Sarah felt bad that her family tried to make her feel better, but she wanted to let them know she really was ok, just sad.

“Mom, Dad, Brother, I am ok. Please stop worrying about me. There’s just so much going on in the world right now, I’m sad about it. And nothing is going to cheer me up, other than just waiting for a while. I just need to feel sad before I start to be happy again.   I hope you understand.”

Her mom finally understood Sarah and nodded. “Of course sweetie. You can feel sad all you need to, that’s just fine. And when you aren’t feeling so sad anymore, that’s just fine too.”

Sarah had taught her family an important lesson that day – sometimes we just need to feel sad, or mad, or angry. That’s ok to feel. And like just about all feelings, eventually they too will fade and we’ll start to feel like ourselves once more.