"I don’t know who this lady is... she waved at him and he made his way up to her. I thought their interaction would be the same as last time but I was wrong. "
"I felt the tug on my sleeve and looked down to find him standing motionless. His mouth was moving but I couldn’t make out his words. His quiet body in the noisy room caught me off guard. I bent down to find his voice."
"I’m done apologizing for something I don’t have control over. And for the friends who have stuck around while I cancel plans, go radio silent, and patiently wait until I’m ready to talk, you’re the real ones. And I’m lucky to have you."
"I’ve heard it. You’ve heard it. Maybe you’ve said it. You know someone. I know someone. Maybe you know 10 someones. And yet saying it is seriously not cool."
The Bible says that “death and life are in the power of the tongue,” and we can powerfully impact our children’s lives and futures by the words we say — positively OR negatively.
I’ve always felt like I’ve lived on the outside, never truly belonging anywhere but always somehow working my way into a seat at some table, even if it was with the Art Geeks from the cafeteria in Mean Girls. Sift through the duds, mama. Because once you find those few (or just one) who truly know you — the hilarious AND the cob-webby parts — and love you anyway, you don’t have to pretend anymore.
When tempers calm and you climb meekly into my lap nuzzled closely to my heart and whisper, “I love you, Mommy,” what I’ve been seeing all along is that much clearer. Yes, you are my strong-willed child, but you are so much more.
"I will never stop loving these babies I’ve been blessed with. I’ll never stop holding them through the hurricane of memories that haunt them in the night. I’ll never stop keeping a second bed in my room."
