Strangest Thing That Has Ever Happened To Me

I am so excited to tell you this story. It happened to me about 6 years ago or so. I was trying desperately to think of something to gift my husband, Jeff. He happens to be the hardest person to give a gift to as he buys whatever he wants usually. He also does not have many wants.

Well, I realized that he loves our dog, Fergie very much and I thought I would get an artist to draw a portrait of her to frame and put on his office wall. Great idea!

Next, I needed to find an artist. It just so happened that I was reading about a high school girl who was trying to make money by producing art for people in my neighborhood. She showed examples of her work and I was impressed by her talent.

I decided to email her to ask if she would have time to do the drawing of Fergie. I had a photo that I wanted her to use and I was excited to have found someone.

She agreed, we settled on a price, and I emailed the photo to her. She said that she would get right on it. I was thrilled.

After 2 weeks without hearing from her, I emailed her to see if she was making progress. She stated that she had been sick and was not able to get started with it. I understood and encouraged her to feel better. She thanked me and promised to get started.

Another few weeks later (maybe 3 -4 weeks), I still had not heard anything from her. I emailed again and this time she stated that after being sick, she had missed a lot of school and she was catching up on the homework she missed. I understood and wished her well. She thanked me and again said that she would start it as soon as she could.

Another several week later, I emailed for an update. She said that she had started it and could have it done in a week. I was thrilled. I asked her how it was going and she said, “great”. She promised to text me when she was done.

Even more, weeks passed and I called her. I wanted to know if she was truly up for doing this or if I should find someone else. She assured me that she would have it done by the weekend. We made a plan for me to pick it up on Saturday at her house.

Saturday came and I traveled to her house. She answered the door with a friendly greeting. I was immediately endeared to her, she was a sweet teenager who seemed a little unsure of herself, but was very kind. I was excited to see the portrait.

She asked if I wanted it sprayed with whatever it is they use to set the finished product. I agreed and waited for her to finish that.

When she brought it to me, I froze and tried to process what I was looking at. It was a horrendously twisted-looking drawing of my “dog”. I didn’t know what to say.

Without wanting to hurt her feelings, I said, “ohhh, thank you!” She rolled it up and put it in a tube, I paid her, and left.

I laughed all the way home, not at her, but at my chickenshit way of not dealing with a hard conversation!

Over the next couple of weeks, I made a plan. I called her and said, that I wanted to talk to her about the portrait. I explained that it wasn’t exactly what I wanted and felt that paying for something that wasn’t her best was not right for me. I could hear the hesitation in her voice, as she told me she couldn’t return the money because she had already spent it.

I felt bad for her. She was clearly a kid with problems and was trying to make an extra buck. It just wasn’t up to standard.

I forgave the return of the money and I wished her well. Later that day, her mom called me to say that she was sorry that it wasn’t what I expected it to be. She explained that her daughter had a mental health crisis in the past couple of months and was even hospitalized. The mom apologized and said she was sorry her daughter couldn’t pay me back. I wished them well and decided I learned a lesson for myself that was worth the money.

I learned that everyone deserves the truth. I could have stated my concern without being cruel or mean. I needed to be authentic and grown-up if I expected to handle life’s issues. Life's issues aren’t always pleasant, but with truth and honesty, I could say what I mean without saying it meanly.

Here is what the final portrait looked like from a different artist.

Thanks for stopping by,

Erlene