Five Minute Friday: Tender

I've always been a hard hitter, personality-wise. I'm a yelling, screaming type. I go at a million miles an hour and manage a dozen projects at a time. Figuring out how to slow down has been one of the great obstacles of my adult life.

When my second-born was a little baby, a friend remarked to me --as I swooped the baby onto my hip and went to chase after the toddler-- that I was a "natural" at this mom-thing. A natural? The notion gave me pause. Like many things in my life, motherhood seemed like something I'd set my mind on and crashed into... a miraculous, beautiful journey, yes, but one I've often felt I'm blundering through.

And so it's been with awe that I've stepped off the track from time to time to realize that this mess of parenting has simultaneously brought forth that elusive aspect of my persona --tenderness-- that I didn't think existed. Giggling whispers beneath a blanket; a slow, measured reply instead of the irritated retort I've in mind; skimming my hand across the smooth cheek of a child after we've had a difficult day together. They've summoned my tenderness, and I struggle and blunder and fight to make it known, because I know as I sit briefly in the eye of the storm, it's what brings the rainbow after the downpour.



Linking up with The Gypsy Mama today for Five Minute Friday.