I “met” Barbara when we were both writers at Moms of Hue, now We of Hue. Our connection came from many directions. I suppose it would be easy to say that our mutual status as single moms was a strong reason we supported each other and connected with ease.  But beyond that we share an entrepreneurial spirit (please check her etsy space Baby Squares-where I just received two gorgeous hand crocheted Berets, and butterfly hair clips),  a love of blogging at Chasing Metamorphosis, and a passion for speaking our minds.

But while I was writing from the comfort of my own home, with a secure job, Barbara was doing all of that and more without a stable home for her and her daughter, or a steady job. Sometimes staying in a shelter, or living with her grandmother while working a temp job when her car wasn’t broken or broken into were just a few of the obstacles she surmounted with grace and determination over the last eleven months.  All the while keeping her daughter’s stability and joy at the top of her priority list.

In my initial vision for “Freedom Fridays” in my post a day layout, I was going to devote this space to allowing others to be free to speak their mind, and tell their stories.  Even though she is a prolific blogger in her own right, it is always powerful to write for a new audience.

In her own words Barbara said of this piece that it was; definitely about being on the “other side”, maybe a testament to being winners in our children’s eyes during the times that we think we may be failing.  Having to uproot my child without a clear destination definitely made me feel like I was failing, and it had a LOT to do with the fact that I was a college grad.  I just wasn’t supposed to be “there”, yet I was, we were.

Through the looking glass

I am still decompressing.

I wanted very much to come here a champion – the winner of a very humbling experience.  I wanted to speak of how we’ve (my daughter and I) emerged, survivors of 11 months without a permanent address.  Truth is, I’m still transitioning from the transition.  Although I am now nestled in my comfy bed, alongside my sleeping baby, under a roof that is ours alone, I still feel a sense of instability.  I’m here testing the waters from my side of the bed, not yet able to fully jump right in for fear that the waters are 8 feet deep instead of three.

So, I stop, take a breather and take Mama’s advice.  Words do not escape me, but they most certainly escape she who is a part of me.  How does she really see me?  Does she see what I see in my darkest hours?  Does she see what I strive to do for her and because of her?

I’ll let her answer that.

(Questions borrowed from Mama C’s original reflections from Sam)

1. What is something I always say to you?
I love you too.

2. What makes me happy?
I have a good day.

3. What makes me sad?
I have a bad day.

4. What was I like as a child?
You were beautiful and kind to other kids.

5. How old am I?
26.

6. How tall am I?
11 inches.

7. What is my favorite thing to do?
Write about things that inspire you.

8. What do I do when you’re not around?
Read books and magazines or take a nap etc.

9. If I were to become famous, what will it be for?
Writing a poem to the president and he/she loved it and you got to live in the white house.

10. What am I really good at?
Loving me and writing.

11. What am I not very good at?
Your good at everything.

12. What do I do for my job?
I don’t have a clue.

13. What is my favorite food?
Cucumbers.

14. What makes you proud of me?
That you’re doing a good job at work.

15. If I were a cartoon character, who would I be?
Dora.

16. What do you and I do together?
Watch movies.

17. How are you and I the same?
We have the same eyes, hair color, etc.

18. How are you and I different?
We are not different from each other.

19. How do you know I love you?
Because you do.

20. Where is my favorite place to go?
Home Town Buffet.

If this is the impression that I’ve made on my child in just seven years, I think we’re gonna make it.