Mothers and Daughters

I was mothered by a woman who didn't give birth to me today. She listened while I talked and even welled up some with tears. We had a cheese sandwich. She called to make sure I got home o.k.

My daughter had a physical therapy assessment today. She might have a disability which, if she does have it, she already has it. So, knowing will be helpful. She said, "I love _____," who she had just met - the woman who stretched her limbs, tested tone and mobility. She trusts who she trusts and loves who she loves. Sometimes it is someone she just met. Sometimes it is not someone she has known for years.

I asked my mother for space. She wrote me a few emails saying she would give it to me. Each email made me more angry. I can't keep her from writing them. I can decide if I want to open them or respond.

My daughter is in the stage where she says, "watch me, watch me," as she is in the process of learning something. Right now, she can do six cylces of hula hooping. She LOVES to try harder and harder and harder and see if she can hula longer and longer and longer. So sweet and tender and tenacious.

Gratitude for warmth today, for friends, for a house full of love, food and blankets. Breathing. A friend asked, "Are you breathing?" I am now.