Daniel said no, so we stayed home. What followed wasn’t a therapeutic exercise or something devised for a blog. It was simply Saturday: blueberry waffles with peanut butter, boys needing Daddy, Hilda, quesadillas, an old letter finally sent, an octopus reclaimed, and ordinary family life unfolding because we listened.
Tag Archives: Trauma and Healing
Daniel Does Not Need to Become Brave Enough
On the eve of Daniel’s Day, a five-year-old says, “I don’t want to go tomorrow.” What begins as a question about Saturday plans becomes something much deeper: a father learning that his child does not need to become brave enough for tomorrow. Tomorrow needs to become safe enough for his child.
Sometimes You Run Out of Glue
Sometimes what looks unfinished is finished. Sometimes what emerges from the fire is more truthful than what we intended to make. And sometimes the next step in rebuilding a life begins with knowing when to stop, look at what is already here, and let God turn the page.
One Little Thing
Some problems arrive so large that we disappear inside them. On Hope’s Day, an insurance envelope, memories of architecture, a lesson from Mom, and a Bruce Springsteen song taught us something different: one little thing. Then another. Hope is not knowing how everything will turn out. Hope is learning how to remain here while we find out.
The Protector and the Page
What happens when an eleven-year-old protector who has always understood love through duty and work discovers that his family no longer needs him to save the old world? On Justus’s Day, we begin learning that freedom requires something different.
