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| Diva, 14 yrs old, & Me at the talent show |
My oldest daughter was in a talent show this weekend, and
while the judges’ scores were being tallied, the service club hosting the show
used the time to give out their annual ACE award. It is meant for a high school senior who has
had to overcome “something” in their lives, and will graduate. The honoree’s story brought me to tears
within seconds (surprise), and it made me want to hug his mom (surprise). It just seemed so ironic…Here are all these regular kids on stage, dancing,
singing, and acting silly… wanting attention and applause and a trophy…and this
boy, due to lifelong medical struggles, just wants to be able to walk into a swimming pool and stand up in the shower. And he walked right up on that stage and
accepted his award… and all I could think about was how happy his mother must
be right then, in that amazing moment.
The crazy/funny/fantastic thing is that I was there that
night with a regular kid who sang
her beautiful face off and got attention and applause and won a 2nd
place trophy. And I was so happy right
in that amazing regular kid moment.
One of the good things to come from the past 18 months has
been the massive amount of life experience I have gained. I believe that it is much easier to love
other people when you believe they are like you. It sounds vain when I read that back… but
similar life experiences bond us together because we are confirmed that others
understand us. Because of my experiences, I understand you better. I know you.
I know you who choose to be doctors, nurses, and therapists,
and you who have a special child that needs round the clock care from you. I know you who spend all your spare time
taxiing kids here, there, & everywhere, and I know you who have lost a
child. I know you working moms who never
get it all done, and you stay at home moms who wonder where in the hell the day
went. I know you who beam with pride
over a good report card, and you who wonder how your baby is going to make it
through __ more years of public school. I
know you who believe in miracles and attend church regularly, and you that try
to drown guilt and pain with alcohol and drugs.
I know you that live life with a purpose and you who wonder what the
point of it all is.
I know you.
And now you know that I am nuts.
You are not nuts. Sometimes I feel like the only thing keeping me going is the search for a face I recognize, and getting that recognition back. To really be known, you know? Because when you are in that space feeling so alone, it's absolute freedom to be given a hand by someone who knows exactly what you're going through, because they've been there, too, and they made it out okay.
ReplyDeleteLove your words here.
Steph
Thank you, Steph, for reading and responding. I love knowing that you are hearing me.
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