I think my child needs therapy.....

How else can you explain this self-portrait: If there were a title for this little artist's work I would name it "The Angry Child". Jason had a "homework" assignment over the weekend and this was it. He had to draw a picture of himself. Now, this simple task started a great discussion in the van on the way home on Friday. I hadn't read the instructions all the way through when he informed me he wanted to draw Superman. "Superman?" I exclaimed! "You're supposed to draw a picture of yourself". Now Jason, never being the one to back down from a good argument, rebutted with "Yes I can draw Superman. Teacher said!". Of course, after reading the entire letter from the teacher, he, in fact, could draw a picture of himself dressed up like someone. Ok, I give. So we started our little project on Saturday. Starting with the eyes. Ok. Then the nose - a bit like Frosty, but again, it's his drawing. Then came the mouth. Oh my Lord. I don't know if you can tell from the picture, there is not ONE frowny mouth, but TWO, count 'em TWO frowny mouths. He drew the first one and I said "OK, that's great" gritting my teeth....."but you look mad with that mouth, can you try to make it look like a smile?" I said in my cheeriest voice. So he quickly took his little Sharpie marker and drew the same thing right below it. I can't tell if it makes him look even more angrier or like a small child with a double chin. As he finished coloring outside the lines and scribbling all over, I bounced between holding back my right arm to keep from correcting the picture, to wondering what I had done wrong as a mother. I mean, how can a child of 4 years old draw himself this unhappy? And how in the world is a type-A mom like me going to turn this in to the teacher? I am, after all, expecting him to go to Kindergarten next year! I left the picture as it was so Daddy could see it to give me some clue as to what I've done wrong as a mother. He took the picture in hand and asked Jason why he had such a mad face in the drawing. He replied "because I don't know how to draw anything else". Well, there you have it. I'm not a failure as a mother after all, except for the fact I've never learned to teach my child to draw fuzzy, happy bunnies. So I will turn his little "self-portrait" in tomorrow - all smiles as if my child's picture does not reflect some dysfunction at home. It doesn't, (really, it doesn't) but if I were his teacher I would wonder...... One of these days I'll look back on this and laugh. Not today. Probably not tomorrow either - or the entire week or month it is posted in his room at school.