An ear-splitting screech interrupted these thoughts and seconds later, a fully laden trolley slammed into my back, almost knocking me off my feet.
Stifling an expletive, I turned to see a crimson-faced, tight-fisted child prostrate on the floor, screaming his lungs out as his equally crimson-cheeked Mum rushed to retrieve the trolley and apologise profusely.
'Sorry, sorry,’' she sputtered. 'He wants an ice-cream.’
Before I could answer, Mum was hauling her squalling child to his feet and promising that ice-cream would indeed be delivered. We could say more about this parenting approach, but that’s not the subject of this piece!
What parent hasn’t been faced with an embarrassing public tantrum when things don’t go the way your child would like? As the mother of three, I’ve certainly had my fair share of experiences and I know that it takes a few tantrum-episodes to get the hang of how to deal with a meltdown.
These intense feelings are usually manifestations of great big emotions like frustration and disappointment when things don’t turn out as we’d like – something common to all of us, no matter what age or stage or life.
My latest picture book Juniper’s Painting – about a young child stuck inside on a stormy day, started out as an exploration of the ways creativity can help us process thoughts and feelings. It’s also about finding inspiration in nature and the environment – even environments that might be challenging.
However, a major personal life event that coincided with the book’s recent release, has made me realise it’s more than that.
Inspiration for this story came about several years ago when my sons were a lot younger.
As much as I wish I had the artistic talent to draw or paint, I’m completely inept. However, I’ve always been a prolific doodler – when on the phone, when in the planning stages of a piece of creative writing, in meetings and sometimes when sitting in front of the television.
I find it helps organise my thoughts and is often quite meditative and soothing.
When my sons were younger – and especially on the long summer school holidays when the frequent catchcry was, 'Mum, I’m bored, what can I do?' I’d drag out a big sketch book or piece of paper and set them down with whatever paints, textas or coloured pencils were available.
They’d spend time either just making squiggles on the page, creating some fantastical landscape or working together on a plan for a fort or an incredible space station complete with a zoo and shark aquarium.
The blank pages also became a canvas for them to express their frustrations with one another or with the world.
On those wild wintry days when we might be stuck indoors and all that unspent energy saw everyone climbing up the walls, we’d pile into the car and head to the beach to just to watch the sea, enjoying the sights of the wind lashing the waves and listening to the rain thunder down on the roof of the car.
As we sat, the storm eventually blew itself out and the sun broke through the clouds, sending us tearing from the protection of the car and down to the sand to explore.
My father passed away recently and his funeral was actually held on the day Juniper’s Painting was officially released.
The time since then has been bleak, sometimes rocky, sometimes joyful as we reflect as a family and often confusing.
I have had to remind myself that disappointment and grief is like a storm and that if you stick it out, the sun will break through, because no matter how dark the clouds, the sun is waiting just on the other side.
I hope we can help young children understand the benefits of creativity and the power of nature and to hold on to the fact that while we might experience storms in life, if we can just be patient, they will pass and the sun will shine once more.
Disappointment and grief are part of life, and sooner or later, they are experiences and feelings we will all have.
It’s always handy to have meaningful tools and techniques to help deal with these feelings in a healthy and productive way – whether it’s picking up a pencil and making crazy doodles on a page, creating something beautiful, or unleashing our imagination on a blank canvas.
Getting out into nature, experiencing its rawness, its gentleness and power is not only a great distraction from feelings of disappointment, it can be a healthy way to start healing.
Catherine Bauer is a journalist and writer from South Australia. Her love of writing started as an eight-year-old where she wrote and illustrated her own book. She has now written and published three children’s plays and two picture books. Catherine aims for her stories to spark all or one of the following three reactions in readers: ‘That’s me’; ‘I wish that was me’ or ‘I’m glad that’s not me’. Her parents were both great story tellers and among her favourites, her father’s wonderful retellings about finding joy in small things, his enthralling adventures and often hardships of a childhood growing up in WWII Germany. Juniper’s Painting by Catherine Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer Horn, gently shows young audiences that while dark moments can feel overwhelming, they never last forever—and that staying positive helps the sun break through.
Visit Catherine via her website or follow her on Instagram.