I’m not sure I understand why this is so, but this pandemic lock down has me looking at things in a more introspective way. Perhaps I have more time with my thoughts than before? Things are much quieter and less hectic. I probably should be taking this time to clean and tidy my house. Maybe I should do the family laundry. Somehow I’d rather write than do any of those things. We go through life climbing, achieving, and sometimes dealing with whatever and wherever the wind blows us. Taking the time to think about who we are, what we want out of life, why we respond to things a certain way, what our kids are going through, how what we are going through harkens back to when we were kids, it’s the thing we are doing now.
I saw a performance of the song, Piece by Piece, that Kelly Clarkson did on American Idol when she was pregnant, I presume as a guest. It moved everyone to tears, including her, which she promptly blamed on pregnancy hormones. But you know what? It touched everyone who ever felt abandoned by someone they loved and looked up to. Oh, all the feels. The song grabs the little child in all of us, throws us back to a moment in time (or many moments) where our little souls were trod upon by some feckless adult. That little child still hurts and needs us to go back in time, knowing all we know now, and show it some love and sympathy. This pandemic experience is a lot like that – we are all suffering in some way – and we need to show some love and sympathy to process it all.
This experience gives us all the opportunity to slow down a little. Go back to the little child, and that moment of hurt, kiss the boo boo and tell her that she has grown up to be a capable, loving and attentive parent herself. Hug the little person and tell him that he has become a strong, smart and caring grown up. You may have to do this a number of times for it to have the effect your little self needs.
Growing up, there were many moments in my little life that are brought forward by things like Kelly’s song. Too many heartbreaks to mention here, small and large. All of which are healed by time and space, but are still there when prompted. So honor your little self, allow the songs that touch your heart to bring you back, and console your younger self. Whisper your accomplishments and your strength to that little child, give yourself credit and courage. You are now the person you needed then.