Everything went wrong today.
This morning, Selenga dropped her backpack. At lunch, there was something she didn't like to eat. It rained in the park. On the way home, her shoes got soaked.
Selenga opened the front door.
She stepped inside.
Mom was in the kitchen. She turned around. She looked at Selenga's face.
"What's wrong?"
Selenga didn't answer.
The Embrace
Mom came over. She knelt down. She got to Selenga's level.
“Tell me.”
Selenga didn't want to talk. The words wouldn't come.
Mom opened her arms.
Selenga walked forward. She stepped into her mother's embrace.
Mom held her tight. Really tight. But not too tight.
Selenga's nose touched her mother's neck.
Lavender. There was always lavender on Mom.
Why Does It Feel Better?
Selenga thought about it.
The embrace was warm. She could hear her mother's heartbeat. Slow. Steady. Strong.
“Thump. Thump. Thump.”
That sound made everything smaller. The bad day shrank. The wet shoes shrank. Everything shrank.
There was only this moment.
Mom's embrace. Lavender. The heartbeat.
Telling the Story
After a while, Selenga started talking.
“I dropped my backpack.”
“That happens.”
“There was spinach for lunch.”
"I know, I'm sorry."
“It rained in the park.”
“Yes, I saw.”
“And my shoes got wet.”
"I'll dry them for you."
She told everything. Mom listened. She didn't fix anything. She just listened.
“You had a really tough day.”
“I did.”
"But it's over now."
Selenga thought about that. “Is it over?”
"It is. You're here now. And I'm here."
Tomorrow
Selenga stood up.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Could tomorrow be a bad day too?”
“It might be.”
“Will you still open your arms?”
Mom laughed. “Always.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Selenga felt better. A bad day didn't seem so scary anymore.
Because at the end of every bad day, there was an embrace.
A Note for Parents
After a difficult day, read this story to your child. Then open your arms. Hold them before the words run out. This story begins right there, in that embrace.