Yesterday, I wrote about how important it is for us single parents to get to a healthy place in our lives where we can admit that we have needs and share our needs with ourselves and others. I occasionally write about personal growth and strength and healing here in the Single Parents blog and I have been thinking about how “strength” does not always appear as the obvious strong and stoic personality traits that we tend to think. Sometimes, strength can appear in the shape of vulnerability and softness; strength can show up in our lives in some pretty unexpected ways.
For some of us, the classic display of strength can be a classic defense mechanism and it may come easily for us in response to all sorts of life events. So easily, in fact, that it is more about putting on a “show” of strength than of actually being strong. For us, it can take more “strength” to work on trust, being vulnerable, opening up and letting ourselves be soft or admitting that we don’t know all the answers.
Strength can display itself in the way we are loving and affectionate with our kids, even when we are hurting ourselves; or in the fact that we get up and go to work every morning even when we would rather not. Strength can also be in the way we continue to practice and work on those areas of our lives that can seem frustrating and futile. I am of the opinion that patience and resiliency can be some of the greatest demonstrations of strength there are–so when we are able to stay up a little late to finish the chores and read that extra story to our child, or get up early in the morning to make sure the day gets off to a good start–that is strength too.