Frederick

Creativity has always been an important part of my life. It started when I was a child. While most kids were asking for toys for their birthdays, I asked for paint, crayons and colored pencils. I was happiest when I was in my own world, imagining new scenes to create. My mother encouraged my artistic endeavors by signing me up for art classes during the summers and after school.

As I grew older, my desire to express myself creatively expanded to writing, photography, videography and music. I think I really inspired my kids when I signed up for guitar lessons right after my 40^th birthday. I wanted to let them know that it’s never too late to pursue your interests.

My daughter has inherited my creative genes. Like me, she enjoys writing, art, music and photography. In addition, she’s added dance and crafting to her creative repertoire.

I must say that I’m impressed by my daughter’s crafting ability. She can make anything out of duct tape and has started her own online craft store to sell her merchandise.

We often spend time together drawing or taking photographs. These moments are special because we not only get to indulge in shared passions, but we also get to spend uninterrupted quality time together. Sometimes we work in total silence. But being in the presence of each other is comforting. Other times, my daughter shares things with me that she may not normally discuss.

During one of our art sessions, I could tell that something was bothering her. After some careful prodding, I found out that she was upset because her drawing was not selected as their school’s yearbook cover.

I was able to comfort her by telling her the story of my own elementary artistic disappointments. Each year I’d enter the Texas Livestock Show and Rodeo’s art contest and each year I’d lose to my classmate, Tony Cool (yes, that is his real name). I suffered these crushing defeats from 3^rd to 5^th grade. I let my daughter know that although I was upset about the losses, I never allowed them to affect my confidence in my creativity abilities.

She smiled, thanked me for sharing that story, and continued drawing her Manga-inspired portrait.

I also smiled, kissed her on the forehead, and quietly gave thanks for the creative bond that keeps us close.

For more musings from Frederick, visit http://www.mochadad.com.