Heard

I overslept this morning. You know when you wake up out of a sound sleep and just know it is later than you intended before even opening your eyes to confirm the position of the sun? Yet I was ready to exit the dream sequence I was caught in. I was giving the silent treatment to someone who hurt my feelings. And the most disturbing part of the dream was that upon waking, I realized that I'd done that in real life to this person when I felt wronged. As if friends can read our minds. How many times have I reminded others to use their words?

I stayed up later than planned last night because Miss Lil came down and joined me in the kitchen and we got to chatting. It's not often that she wants to talk these days so I decided right then and there that I would stay up and then sleep in a bit. It was a good conversation about what doesn't really matter. What's worth mentioning is that we were sharing our thoughts, feelings and also a few laughs. My girl she has a lot of insight and a big, kind heart. Both serve her well in life.

We traveled almost an hour away for her soft ball game earlier in the evening. Coach Dad is away on business this week so it was just the two of us. When we got there, I reclined my seat and unapologetically took an exquisite nap in the car while the team warmed up. Exquisite because the windows were open and through them was blowing the most delicate of breezes. Also the sounds of birds chirping, fans cheering, teammates encouraging. After about 20 minutes, I set up my chair on the side lines just as the game was starting. It was a quick contest against a team that is much more seasoned than our young group of girls. Lily had the one and only hit of the game - a double. She had only one at bat. Some of the parents and the coach were disgruntled by the way the opponent was aggressively running up the score, but not Lil. On the way home, she acknowledged that the other team did nothing unsportwomanlike. They played hard and they played to win. In this day of trying to paint everyone as winners, I found her frank acceptance healthy. Some win. Some lose. We shake hands and all move on. It was a perfect night for a ball game. No time was wasted.

She read a blog post I'd written the other night. I'm not sure which one, but it doesn't matter. She told me it was sweet and that it made her cry. Sweet tears of joy because she felt what a love letter this space is for my family. I write here as much for them as I do for myself. That she recognized this was a beautiful moment for me. Whether we win or lose, we all just want to be acknowledged, appreciated, heard.