This is my big advice for the day. This post is highly overdue and honestly I just don't enjoy blogging that much, but this particular thought has been bouncing around in my head for months and I felt like I should share it. I have always admired a certain mother and dear friend of mine. In college as a newlywed, before children were even an idea, I used to love just going over to her house to watch her mother her children. Her patience seemed endless to me - once she showed a home video of her daughter in the bathtub fully clothed! She had jumped in while her mother was filling the tub and had left for only a moment. How I looked up to this woman! Instead of being angry and frustrated, she had laughed and captured this adorable event on camera!
Which brings me to the title of this post. Well over a year ago I felt prompted to write this woman a letter or an e-mail telling her these things and what an example she was to me. She is someone that I think I have always felt closer to than maybe she felt to me, but SO many times it has been her that I have thought of when I've chosen to laugh instead of yell and snap a picture instead of spank a bum! (I'm still working on this, by the way, but when I've been able to do it successfully my children have her to thank.)
About 6 months ago, something unspeakably terrible happened to this friend. I read her blog and wish there were something I could do to ease the pain. But the thing is, I never wrote that letter. I didn't listen to that prompting and now it's too late. Hearing the words from me NOW would sound so trite and contrived as if I were only saying them because of the pain that she's enduring now when those words would have meant so much more before. That's the worst part is the knowing I should have said the words earlier, but I didn't.
Just listen to the Spirit folks. It's a horrible helpless feeling when you know you didn't do something you should have.
A Final Note
11 years ago
5 comments:
Thank you!!!
sunny you are awesome. my neighbors said they saw you guys the other day at a bday party. how come we haven't seen each other yet?? seriously.
Sunny your amazing! Thanks for sharing. You should write her the letter now. It will still be so special to her now Im sure. Especially coming from the strong woman and loving mother you have become. Im sure she would love it! Love you girl!
Yay! A post! Thanks for posting...it makes me sad for you and how you feel about your regrets. You know...don't ever beat yourself up. We all have feelings of wishing we had followed through with a thought or an action. But from one mother to another mother, let's be real. Those thoughts come between meals, diaper changes, bathtimes, laundry switching, husband listening, attempted housecleaning, etc etc etc. You have every reason to be proud of yourself for recognizing what you want to improve upon. Many of us are sometimes to oblivious to recognize even that about ourselves. We love you TONS! And definitely need to get together with the littles to let them play and spend time with each other, for sure. (And P.S. Write the letter...some people need all the uplifting they can get...)
I say still write the letter, or print this one out and send it her way...I'm sure she'll still appreciate it. Hey who doesn't like to hear how great they are :)
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