A Wise Girl Once Told Me...

I was dealing with a lot of heavy "stuff" on Monday. Things were weighing heavy on my heart and making my mind swirl. Before I picked up the kids that afternoon, I just lost it. I sat in a parking lot, just sobbing my heart out on the phone to JM, (bless his heart for not freaking out and running the opposite way!). It wasn't pretty, let me just say that! Anyway, by the time I picked up the kids from school, my eyes were puffy and red, and I looked a mess! I tried to pull myself together, but Lilly asked what was wrong with my eyes. Ugh, bad parenting...never let your kids see you upset.

When we got to the car, Lilly asked what was wrong. She was very concerned. My only answer to her was "sometimes people just say mean things and it hurts Mama's feelings." Lilly's response: "Mom, you just need to walk away and not bite their hook." What? I asked her what that meant. She explained that when people are mean to you, you just need to plug your ears and walk away. She said that sometimes people just say mean things to trap you. They want you to cry. She said "as long as you don't bite their hook, you can't get hurt." Wow. My five year old just said one of the most profound things I had ever heard (seriously!)!

It's true. We sometimes set ourself up for disappointment by letting people hook us. We take the bait and end up getting hurt, for no reason. If we had just walked away and carried on with life as usual, maybe we wouldn't have ended up crying in a parking lot somewhere. My plan for the future-- walk away and don't bite their hook. (Thanks Lills!)