As a reading specialist, you often need to have difficult conversations. Sometimes it's with parents, telling them that their child is struggling in reading. Sometimes those conversations are with teachers, discussing their strengths and needs. Sometimes it's with a supervisor, defending a program you have worked carefully to build. Most of the time, these conversations go well. Sometimes, they don't.
It's at these times that I could lean on my mother for support. No matter what others said, she would always be that moral compass, letting me know if I was overreacting or doing the right thing. Unfortunately, she's not here to advise me. But she has become my "inner voice." (Frankly, that can be annoying at times. I often blame this voice for making me buy things I don't need.) At other times, her voice is reassuring, telling me my gut is right.
I am so thankful for the friends who have stepped in and given me a sounding board over the past few months. I am slowly coming to realize that I have to widen my support system in order to compensate for my mother's absence and these friends have been nothing short of extraordinary. My husband has used humor to diffuse the situation and for that I am grateful.
Still, it's times like these that I miss my mom the most.
