Be Brave

The other night, my girl in England hadn't eaten so, despite the late hour, she was out looking for food. She is alone in London right now as her partner is on a hiking trip in Sweden.

At a corner she stops and yields to a car. The car slows and a person hangs out the window and says, "Sorry mate". Then, with a BB gun, he shoots her in the chest about 5 times and speeds off.

She's not hurt but I wonder how long it took her to register what had just happened. I wonder how much time it took to verify that it was, and I use this term loosely, a harmless BB gun and not something else. Did she look down expecting blood? 

She went home and reported the occurrence to the police via the internet, not speaking to a human. No one to say that you are alright. The mother in me wanted someone to tell her she's alright.

The mother in me envisioned a different scene, one that I don't want to write about. With the daily news of hate and ugliness here at home, I saw a different outcome. There's a part of me that never wants her to come home. Or if she does, maybe just to Portland or San Francisco where there seems to be more tolerance. The mom in me wants her to protect herself at any cost but when I follow that thread to the end, who could she possibly become?

I fear for her. I fear for me and the pain of watching her live life as her true self and seeing how there are people out there that will hate her without ever knowing how special she is, how caring and compassionate, that her high pitch laugh can fill an entire room, of her talent with photography, and her passionate desire to learn.

That little part of me is the one writing this post.

The other part of me says GO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE and haters be damned. Show your light! Never hide it. 

I need to find a balance. I want to be her best fan. I can't do that living in fear. 

May we both continue to be brave.


“Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.”
— Helen Keller

“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Comments

  1. PixieAugust 30, 2023 at 10:11 AM

    I would want to punch the perpetrator right in the throat. Your poor daughter. That must have been terrifying.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferAugust 30, 2023 at 12:50 PM

    Oh god, Linda. How terrible! I'm so sorry this happened.

    ReplyDelete
  3. NewRobin13August 30, 2023 at 1:44 PM

    I want to punch that SOB so hard and smash him so he never forgets. Maybe he'll wake up someday and regret that he is such an outrageous person and learn how to accept people for who they are. I am so sorry your daughter experienced that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MargaretAugust 30, 2023 at 6:51 PM

    That is frightening and hurts my heart. You are brave to let her spread her wings and she is brave for living as her true self.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousAugust 31, 2023 at 7:51 AM

    Such a terrible act of hate. I’m glad she is okay— may she never have to deal with anything like that ever again! (Debra She Who Seeks)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Marie SmithAugust 31, 2023 at 9:01 AM

    What a terrifying experience! I understand your fear for her. I hope you both can find peace about this incident.

    ReplyDelete
  7. BillAugust 31, 2023 at 12:29 PM

    So sorry to read this, I'm so glad she is ok. There is so much hate in the world today, we must do our best to combat it. It can't be allowed to become acceptable or normalized.

    ReplyDelete
  8. JeanieAugust 31, 2023 at 5:40 PM

    Did she know those people who shot her? If she did, that's hideous. If she didn't, it's just downright awful -- and either way, scary. Angry? Yes. And worried for her? Always. Oh Linda, I'm sorry you both have to experience this.

    ReplyDelete
  9. ColetteSeptember 1, 2023 at 6:17 AM

    That hurts my heart, too. Awful, hateful, mean people make this world a misery.

    ReplyDelete
  10. DebbySeptember 1, 2023 at 8:51 PM

    I have no words. This has become all too commonplace in the US, but the UK? My daughter lives there too. I always feel like she is in a safe place.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

What do you have to say about that?

Popular posts from this blog

Private Eye

Image
We pass by the house frequently since it sits on a busy thoroughfare. We know to look every time we pass and guess what will we see. Will it be the two Dalmatians, sitting on the couch that backs up to the giant panel window, waiting for their human to come home? Or will it be their human, sitting slightly to the right of middle (allowing for a better view of the giant mounted tv across the room) of the said couch. They are never there at the same time. It’s one or the other. One sleepless night, when my body was willing but my brain was not, I did a little sleuthing. It’s amazing what you can find out about a complete stranger.   His name is Gary and, from what I can tell, he’s never been married. He has worked his way up in a air duct company. He’s now the senior VP but it’s a small company and he still goes out on jobs, judging from  the reviews on Yelp. I know he has two siblings and that their father passed away in 2018. His memorial was held in a Buddhist temple and Gary sr. soun
Read more

Go!

Image
 Vai. E, se der medo, vai con medo mesmo. When one is raised in an angry family, it’s not enough to say I don’t want to be angry. You must learn how to do it differently. That’s no easy task. If judgment and self hatred became a way of life, a new way to live has to be taught. There are many ways to do it. Reading, writing, sharing, practicing all help the change. Counseling, psychoanalysis, religion, meditation, gratitude, have the ability to transform but I needed to see it in action, it needed to be more tangible, visual, accessible. I needed to understand the possibilities. There is a YouTube channel that I watch over and over again in order to absorb how to live more fully, more open and from the heart. One of the first episodes that I stumbled on is this…. The channel is Reflections of Life and through it we get to meet people who are doing life a little differently, often more soul based. People who are living life, healing wounds and finding what is truly important.  It can be
Read more

Let's Be Perfectly Clear

I would like your input on this letter I am considering sending out. Darryl, I once considered you, if not a friend, a very friendly acquaintance. Our daughters are the same age. I am sure that your daughter is as special to you as mine is to me. McKenna is 21 years old and starting out her life with some tough situations. SHE IS NOT AN OBJECT. She is a person who has her ups and downs, her struggles and triumphs. She has, in the past year, completely alone, had to make scary medical decisions for her mentally ill, addicted father. She has had to watch as the man who was an amazing father slowly turn into a shell of a man who has little to give and much to take. Whether purposefully or accidentally, you have added to her already difficult year. I wonder…would you appreciate my ex-husband leering and making inappropriate comments to your daughter over the course of a long evening? Think about that for a moment!  What were you hoping to achieve with your behavior? Whether
Read more