Gravity just makes you stronger.
I told her that being a single mom reminded me of steel-toed boots.
In my mind it made perfect sense, in that funny speed of thought way,
connecting events mercurially. In college I worked for my Dad
out at the Air Force Base;
All the summer help were made to wear steel-toed boots.
All the summer help were made to wear steel-toed boots.
At first they were ridiculously heavy, just walking was a chore.
That first night home I sat down and marveled at how much misery
they had added to my work day.
The summer work days were lost in my memory,
trains full of coal, replacing railroad ties. Shoveling dirt.
The summer work days were lost in my memory,
trains full of coal, replacing railroad ties. Shoveling dirt.
I was fast forwarded to the end of the summer,
remembering myself running in them like sneakers.
remembering myself running in them like sneakers.
Unencumbered. Not noticing their weight at all.
It must be the same for the one
who does all the work of raising her children, alone.
who does all the work of raising her children, alone.
She has no idea how all that added weight will make her so much stronger,
each day we look on at what she does for her normal day,
speechless.
One Comment
basilix0
Sometimes you look up into the night sky, and happen to glance up at *just* the right time to see a shooting star. A moment earlier or later, and you’d never have noticed its passage across the black velvet sky. But you DID look up, and you DID see it. 🙂 It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it? More so for having been so nearly missed.
Thank you for that post.