Dean has been an amazing addition to our family. His purity of heart has reminded us of unconditional love. He has zero boundaries born from a boundless joy. Even when his canine sisters are being cranky, he kisses them on the face. If they growl at him, he wags his tail and licks them anyway.
But sometimes, he can be nudgy. Whether it's Monday or Sunday, he's up at 6 am, licking my face to go potty. Part of me appreciates his waking me up, while part of me says, "Dean, just 15 more minutes." Recently, I realized something. If you take a blanket and hold it up, he will go into it, fall down and sleep. Regardless of how wide-awake his puppiness is. Regardless of the hour. If you put a blanket on top of him, he falls down like a house of cards. It's his Kryptonite.
We all have our own Kryptonite. That thing that drops us to our knees when we feel our strongest. That envelopes us and steals all focus. No matter what is going on in our lives, it can level us in a second and bring us to ground zero.
For me, it's the word, "Mommy." My kids are older and more independent. So when they say, "Mommy," my heart melts and every ounce of me spills to the floor in a big, gushy mess. And nothing else matters in that moment but them.
My kryptonite? A friend gave me a wooden sign the other day that says "You is smart, You is kind, You is important." - Aibileen Clark. Yes, I know, fictional character from a book. But what a great lady. After I read The Help I started to say such things to my daughter when I tucked her in at night, it became a part of our routine. You are smart, beautiful, brave, strong, important, etc, etc. We even talked about what important means..that it matters to me what you think and that I'll always listen to what you have to say. If I ever forgot one she would chime in "what about...?" What kind of impact could that make on a little girl if that's what her head was filled with?? Then I thought, why just girls? The next night I started to tell my boy too. Sometimes he says, "Mom, I know!" But I go through the list anyway. So then my sweet heart friend gives me this wooden sign with the words burned into it. I opened the packaged and lost my breath. I was overcome with emotion and the tears came rolling. I think it's the first time I read the words to myself and not to someone else. I never realized that there was a little girl in me that desperately needed to know these things! Therapy Session: It's never too late to parent yourself! so now the sign is by my front door. I want everybody to read it to themselves! It still takes my breath away and makes me smile. You are smart and kind and important! Definately kryptonite! Thank you Lesa!
ReplyDeleteThanks B! I actually just saw this!!! I love you.
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