In Big Praise of Little Things

Aug 8, 2014 by admin

I’ve noticed something endearing that my mom does whenever she accomplishes something difficult—she praises herself. Affirmations of “I did it” or “you did it Billie” act as the punctuation of a sentence that, if written, would read: Billie, those three mountainous stairs you just clawed, crawled, and climbed using the two knees that badly need replacing could have stood in the way of you and the exhilarating feeling of finally, finally crossing the threshold of the front door you’ve longed to cross, but they didn’t, they couldn’t, because you, doggedly, creatively, painstakingly navigated them the best you could and your best, Billie Girl, was good enough this time. You did it! While I watched Billie…