A flashlight in the dark

Here we are, the day after the solstice, when our world literally becomes a little brighter. This metaphor makes so much sense to me for the darkest times in our lives when things are bleak and despairing. If we get through the pain there is a light at the other side. We may have no sign of it, no inkling, but it will eventually come. 

In early November I had one of these nights. A night as a parent, when time stops and the world around you ceases to exist. The doctor gets disturbed by a phone call at 9pm on a Monday night. We floundered our way through and eventually the morning came. The kids were safe. 

But mental health is sneaky and hard to predict. Sometimes it feels too much to bear. If I am the one who is supposed to hold the hope and the hope isn’t there… what happens then? 

A week later I sat down for Thai food with a close friend. I let it all out, baring my soul over green curry. I didn't couch it with, "I know it's going to be ok." She listened. Like, really listened. She said yes all of this is true and here are the things that are still amazing in your life and steady, too. She held the hope for me. 

Who can hold your hope for you?