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shelleybrill shared a letter in the
Women's Empowerment group 1 years, 8 months ago We All Need a Cheerleader
Shelley BrillDear Lauren,
Ever since you were a small child you were always extremely chatty. I was lucky to be the recipient of your words of wisdom. When you were a teenager I was working in New York City working with some really amazing physicians. I was intimidated by these colleagues that I actually had to teach. I had to give them very detailed information about very strong drugs that were actually controlled substances. I was challenged and questioned a lot by these doctors. I came home worried that I was an inadequate source of information for these thought leaders.
Well those evenings when I came home feeling less worthy of my position, I would tell you how I felt. You were always so supportive and complimentary. Every night you would tell me I was much smarter then I thought and yes you always told me how beautiful I was. You were so insistent that I accept the fact that I was very smart. Growing up I struggled in elementary school. I reversed my letters, had trouble in math and had terrible handwriting. My report card usually had C’s. Nothing to be proud of compared to my 2 very gifted children and my attorney husband. I would tell you all this quite often at night and you would not hear it. That was in the past. You told me I gave really good advice, that I was articulate, a good listener, and was much smarter then I gave myself credit for.
Lauren, I think I have finally found the confidence in myself that you saw in me all along. We all need a cheerleader in our life and you have been mine. I am so lucky to have you and Andrew and Dad in my life to raise me up. So I really always had 3 cheerleaders, but you my dear, with your outgoing personality, had the loudest megaphone. Your positive words are always there in my head swirling around telling me “Mom you can do it” Thank you my dear beautiful daughter Lauren.Mom
aww mommy! I love you! And I told you that you were smart because YOU ARE!! You just needed to believe in yourself. I love watching you grow and seeing you venture out of your comfort zone. It’s cool to see you start to believe and see your own brilliance. I love you and will never stop telling you how smart and beautiful you are (inside and out).
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Dear Lauren,
I miss and love you too! I will try to make you proud of me. I am always proud of you and all you do with The Unsealed as well as helping other people in need. You are a bright star in my world and you light up this world with your beautiful writing talent. Continue to spread your positivity.
Love,
Mom
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A multi-generational family of scribblers! Hurrah!
Contemplating M and Y
Insignificant alone, joined together,
M and Y form a bond that is hard to pry apart.
My child moves me to the core.
Deeply felt, it draws upon instincts
passed down from ancient ancestors,
fossil remnants suggesting a common bond.
My child transforms into its own affirmation —
your mother, your father—
we are both defined and honored through
a change of perspective.
Some my’s I might prefer to push away or hide—
my greed, my fault, my fatal flaw,
or in extreme, my enemy, my nemesis,
dogging my days, foreseeing my end.
A good defense for my is your—
”It’s your turn, now; go ahead, you first.
Act on your conscience, it’s up to you.
It’s your fault as much as mine.”
Some my’s seem to become obsolete with age.
My favorite ice cream is any that I can justify eating.
My favorite color – each adds texture to my world:
orange sunset, purple sage, blue moon, black licorice, green eyes…
And so, my list of my favorite my’s is short and sweet—
My love, my husband, my son,
my father, my mother, my sister, my brothers
my family, my friends.
These mys I’ll claim with all my heart until my story ends.
© Kit Minden
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Beautiful, I love it, and it makes me think of my life cheerleader, my daughter. I came from a family of a mother/father, siblings, yet none who ever went to college, some who didn’t even complete high school. So what made me think I would. Our parents never, ever spoke with us about going to college, because they didn’t go. My mother became pregnant very early in life and her and my father got married at a young age and had many kids during their marriage. Neither one of my parents completed school, but I love them still. They did their best at what was in front of them. With all the siblings I had, we never thought that we were poor or without, until we entered our teen years and saw others who had much more. Once I completed high school, and right before I started seeking colleges, I too became pregnant. So, I stopped seeking colleges and got married. My marriage only lasted 2 1/2 yrs and I raised my daughter alone. My daughter not only completed high school, she went on to college and I made sure she did. I talked to her all the time, and I always stated, “you’re either going to work hard now, or you’re going to work hard later, finish school and get a degree. Please go farther with your education than I did. She was also the first to ever go to college in my family, and after college she enter law school and passed the bar on her first try, and worked at her own practice for a while, until she decided to obtain a teaching certificate and now teaches third grade. What I’m trying to get to is that, all the while my daughter was in school, I too wanted to go back to complete what I started, going back to college. I did go back when my daughter was 2yrs old, but I only went for x6 months, because I worked all day, and went to school at night and never go to see my child except early mornings and weekends. To me, that’s not the way to raise a child alone. So all the years went by, and I kept saying I’m going to go back, once my daughter get old, but I never did, until I went through Breast/Colon cancer. That woke me up. I didn’t survive cancer twice to not live, so I was determined to go back to school and get my degree and my daughter cheered me on the entire time and I graduated college at 66yrs of age,. My daughter was and has always been my cheerleader in all that I’ve done in life, as well as being at my side during my ordeal with cancer, twice. Yes, I had a cheerleader as well. So touched by your story.
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