"You are different from everyone else..."
"No, I mean I REALLY feel different, like no one thinks the way I do. At school, when I talk about dragons or my imaginary friends, some of the boys make fun of me."
"Who makes fun of you?"
"Uggh, Mooom, that's not the point!"
"Oh, right.... so what kind of things do they say?"
"Well, it's embarrassing. They say things like 'oh look, there goes the girl who sees dragons'..."
Insert growing anger and sadness followed by instinctive plans for revenge and retaliation <here>.....
Deep breath....... Rationale returns <here>.
"I bet that hurt your feelings didn't it..."
"Yeah.....(long pause).....I don't think I can bring Zach (imaginary friend) to school anymore, and maybe I shouldn't talk about dragons anymore either..."
Insert sharp, knifelike pain in my heart <here>.
Everything in me wanted to protest. Helplessly, I watched a piece of her innocence slip slowly into the shadows...thin...then fade. I knew I had no choice but to accept. Despite all the extraordinary reasons I wanted to give her to resist and be who she wanted, ultimately the decision and choices were hers. To persuade her otherwise might create an internal conflict that stands in the way of her own judgement and reasoning, and her own development of self-trust.
She was growing up, and I had to let her, I... had to trust her.
"Okay then....are you going to be alright with that?"
"Yeah.....some people just don't have the same imagination I do, that's all..."
I smiled. "That is for sure Bee, that is for darn sure..."
Monday love...
xoxo
ps. I'd like to reassure all dragon seers out there that M. is not giving up her imaginary friends or dragons all together, she just is more selective now with who she shares this part of her with :).
