For Crying Out Loud

It was gloomy, winter afternoon, with a fine mist surrounding everything and everyone. They were walking and talking, re-establishing the love that had lanquished and gotten buried under hurts, real and imagined.

They came to a hill. A famous hill, that many people from all over came to climb and spend the day on. Though they didn't have footwear with good grip, they also decided to tackle the hill. After all, it was just a hill, not a mountain. And it wasn't pouring rain, just misting/drizzling. Up they went. The mother had recently come off an ankle injury and was a bit tenuous about climbing. The higher they got, the more exhausted and sore she became. With her son's encouragement she got quite high up the hill, but decided together not to try for the summit. So they started down. Up had its challenges, but down actually proved to be more difficult. The ground was slick with wetness and the lack of grip of their shoes made the going treacherous. At one point, the son slipped, fell and landed on his arm. This was the same arm he had broken just 3 weeks earlier. Because he lived in a country with socialized medicine, he had no cast to protect this injury.

His mother took his good arm and together they worked their way down the hill. At first it seemed that the mother was steadying the son. As they progressed down the slope, it became evident that they were helping each other. More than once, the son caught the mother and saved her from landing on her butt. Equally, the mother caught and steadied her much larger son, a feat she didn't think possible. It wasn't the size of either of them that mattered, but that they were there for each other. The added balance of a second, temporarily stable person was enough to stablize the one losing their grip on the ground. They made it to the bottom of the hill safely. It was still a long walk home, but they made it and had a nice cup of tea together.

Why have I told you this fable? Because it is a perfect metaphor for Being There For Each Other. Being there for each other doesn't mean having to fix anything. It doesn't mean having to be strong. It doesn't mean not hurting too. It means having someone to hold, to hold on to. It means having someone who acknowledges where you are and that it hurts. It means having someone who you can cry with, who won't call you crazy, that you don't have to dress up for, either physically or metaphorically. It means having someone who can understand, someone who can climb the hill with you. Neither of you need to be strong for the other. You will need to understand that the other is also hurting.

Forgive all. Pain makes us do weird and hurtful things. The best we can do is get through this together. None of us are alone, though we will feel so alone at times.

And it's not a fable. It happened, just as recounted.