Am I Still Brave?

I stood in my bathroom throwing makeup on and my hair in a ponytail so I could rush out of the house in time for a meeting downtown. My two littles, ever at my feet, were a little less energetic thanks to a stomach bug that hit our house hard. I was in a hurry. Flustered. Exhausted from being thrown-up on more times than I can count when my daughter spoke in an uncharacteristically timid voice:

“Mom,” she said.

“Yes, Nora.” I answered.

“Remember when we went to the museum?”

“Of course! With Aunt Betsy and Lauren?”

“Yeah, and I went down that big slide?”

“Yeah, I was so proud! You were so brave to go down by yourself!”

There was a pause as my sweet two and half year old finally got out what was on her mind;

“But, mom, I cried a little. Am I still brave?”

In that moment, I was no longer tired, hurried or distracted. I slowly bent down so I could look into my girl’s eyes and I said;

“Nora James, every time I have ever been brave in my whole life, I have cried a little! That just means you’re being REALLY brave!”

And, she ran out of my bathroom clearly relieved. I could hear her run to the living room to exclaim to her dad that she went down the big slide by herself, she cried a little, but she’s still brave!

Man, this girl is doing it right!

Photo by Heart Shot Photo

I feel this kind of raw bravery that is so often only possessed by innocent toddlers is needed today, tomorrow, and in the coming weeks, months and years. We’re going to need to get loud. To stand up for whatever it is we all believe. To make our voices heard. Shed a few tears. And be brave.

Let’s all have the courage to go down whatever big slide is in our future.

Cheers to 2017!