I swear that having to process things on the fly so that I can respond to questions from the girls is one of the best lessons in cutting through it. I have always erred on the side of frankness with them, sometimes to the chagrin of people around me, “You told her to say vagina?”

 

“Umm, yeah, what would you have her call it?”

 

Lately we’ve been exploring issues around relationships, at school, our of school, in movies and books. Each of the girls has her own level of scrutiny as it relates to people. Finley being very clear about what is kind and what isn’t kind; Avery curious about why people do the things they do; and Briar, well she is more contemplative, musing aloud, “Do you think she meant to do that or do you think maybe other things were making her behave that way?”

 

I don’t have all the answers, but as I discussed with a new friend the other day, my hope is that they establish an ease with their instinct, an ability to intuit whether something or someone will make them feel good or if hopes are leading them down a path that might not take them where they mean to go.

I am learning too. It isn’t easy or graceful, but little by little I am finding that I like where the path I’m walking is taking me.

I hope that you are too.

 

Trust