101 Healing Stories for Kids and Teens

kids. Once she put a rubber spider in another girl’s desk then waited for her to open the lid and
scream.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily want you to do all the things that Libby does,” I said. “Nor do I want you
to get into trouble for putting rubber spiders in other kids’ desks to see if they scream in the middle
of class—but I am wondering if there are any things that Libby does that you might be able to do to
create more fun.”
“I guess by being a little more playful,” answered Angela.
“How could you be more playful?” I inquired.
“I guess I could just be a little more relaxed, tell some more jokes, or fool around a little bit more
with the other kids at times,” Angela responded.
“Is there anyone else that you think is a good example of how to have fun?” I continued.
“Well,” said Angela, “Karen seems to have a lot of fun because she has a lot of friends. They al-
ways go around together laughing and having a good time.”
“And what is it that Karen does to have both friends and fun?”
“She invites them around to her place after school,” answered Angela. “She has a lot of sleep-
overs. She visits the other kids’ homes.”
“Are there things that Karen does for fun that you can do for yourself?”
“Maybe I can talk to Mom,” said Angela, “about inviting some friends around after school or
having them sleep over one weekend.”
“And is there anyone else you think of as a fun-filled person—or do you think that you’ve got
enough things to work on already?” I asked.
“Joanne always seems to be doing a lot of things that are fun. She competes in squash after school
on Fridays, is learning the guitar, and plays basketball on weekends. She is always talking about all the
things that she’s done and about how much fun they are for her.”
“Doing things that we enjoy can be fun,” I agreed. “Are there things that you’d like to be doing
more of in your life to have fun?”
“I’ve thought I’d like to go to ballet classes,” said Angela. “That would be fun.”
As Angela began to plan the things she wanted to do, a smile of joy started to creep back on her
face again. I guess I didn’t need to tell her what joy felt like or what the things were that she could
begin to do to have fun. She was already starting to discover them for herself, and it probably all
started with that thing I remember her saying: I want to have more fun.

STORY 44

CULTIVATING CONTENTMENT

Therapeutic Characteristics

Problems Addressed

■ Lack of contentment

■ Loneliness

■ Tr ying to be perfect

MANAGING EMOTIONS

Managing Emotions 127