“Let me tell you what happened,” my daughter said on our way to school.
I patiently listened as my daughter shared the details of her morning.
“I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Charlie came in and distracted me, I looked in the mirror and saw something on my arm. I looked closer and realized, omg, it’s a tick!”
I want to pause here for just a moment and acknowledge the fact that my daughter owns one sleeveless shirt. She happened to be wearing that shirt on this unseasonably warm May morning. If she’d been wearing anything else, she would have missed the tick. I think it’s important to acknowledge these small details of our lives, whether you want to refer to them as small miracles or tiny blessings, if we aren’t paying attention, we can miss the beauty of them.
Clara continued, “it was starting to get in my skin, so I pulled it out and that’s when I called for you. I saw the red mark and knew it must have been close to getting in my arm.”
It was then in her story I entered and confirmed it was in fact a tiny tick that was trying to make its way into my daughter’s arm. We are no strangers to ticks. Where we live, there are many. Both my kids have had ticks on and in them at different points. Still, it’s rattling to see one on you, especially one about to make its way into your skin. Clara was understandably upset and worried. Would she need to go to the doctor? Would she be okay? As we made our way to school, she was likely still feeling some of that worry and upset and you know what she did in that tender and tough moment?
She said, ‘let me tell you what happened.’
When hard things happen, we need someone who we can turn to and say, ‘let me tell you what happened.’ We need someone to hold space, to validate how we are feeling, offer advice (if that is what we are seeking) and simply listen as we process through by taking the pain that is inside and put it on the outside in the presence of a kind witness.
And here is my gentle wisdom offering, when something hard happens, a tick in your arm, a conflict with someone you care about, loss, heartbreak, disappointment, find someone you can turn to and say, ‘let me tell you what happened.’ Hard things within, remain stuck within until we find the courage to bring them out into the light. May you have the courage to bring hard things to the surface and may you have a compassionate witness to hold that sacred space.