When they were young it took so little for my sons to come to the brink of calamity. A skinned knee, a broken glass, an argument with a friend. The world seemed to be constantly filled with landmines that they had to negotiate. But they learned rather quickly that a kiss and a bandaid, mom with a broom and a smile, mom plays part of negotiator (the plate of homemade cookies didn’t hurt) in the friendship. By bedtime, all the bad things would be shoved aside and a kiss and a prayer and they’d fall asleep with smiles on their faces, ready for the next days adventures.
but now .. they’re 19 and 21 and a kiss just doesn’t help.
My oldest son is hurting … and I can’t do anything. Accusations (being falsely thrown at him) that may cause him to loose his job, his transmission went out and the car he’d come close to paying off will suddenly cost $1500 to fix … I can’t make the person throwing accusations at him take their words back, I can only trust that the truth will prevail. I can’t fix his car, nor can I hand him $1500 to fix it …
My youngest is at loose ends with what he WANTS to do and what he’s able to do … and feeling trapped by learning disabilities and limitations.
I can’t FIX my adult children’s grown up problems with a kiss, a cookie and a smile. I can’t fix it … I can only ache watching their pain …
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