Happy Sunday, friend-

I spent a few days this past week with my best friend of 43 years.  She had a stack of old letters I had written her, and reading them sent me digging through my own journals from when we first met.

I had forgotten how much the girl I was at 13 years old worried about so many things, like her body, whether her friends still liked her, what she wore, and whether she would ever be happy. Page after page of a teenage girl who thought her worth was determined by other people.

What struck me was not how far away she feels. It was how badly I wanted to sit down next to her and tell her she was already enough, that the things she kept measuring herself by weren't important.  I wanted to tell her she was brave, strong, smart, and worthy of feeling good about herself.  She didn't know that back then.  But she kept going anyway, carrying all of it and showing up regardless. I did not have a word for that then. This month I do. It is "quiet strength", the kind that keeps showing up long before you can see it in yourself.  It's resilience. 

If I am honest, some of that worry never fully left me. It only got quieter. Maybe you know the feeling. If you do, I hope you can give yourself a little of the tenderness I wish I could have given her back then. 

So here is your reset. Light something you love, sit for a few minutes, and be gentle with the version of you who is showing up right now. She is stronger than she knows, too.

I am so glad you are here.

love & do good - Debbi