From Tracie: Hope in Twinkling Lights

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hope in Twinkling Lights

I asked my cousin if his parents fought and yelled at each other. He got really mad, and said that wasn't something people were supposed to talk about. I didn't mean to embarrass him, I just wanted to know if I was alone. I felt very alone.

Shouldn't married people love each other? I couldn't make sense of so many things in my life, and this was just one of them, but it was a big one.


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Sitting in a dark room listening to a youth group speaker talk about the pain of being a kid with divorced parents, I saw tears all around me. I cried tears of my own - over the pain of marriage. It didn't seem right, but it was how I felt.

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I kept my father's secrets for years. More secrets than I could count. Too many lies to easily keep them all straight.

I told my mom I was moving out, with or without her. I was relieved when she packed her boxes and moved with me. It wasn't an easy thing to do, and I was proud of her.

We bought a Christmas tree a few months later. It was full and beautiful, and we decorated it with white lights and blue and silver ornaments. A matching tree was something mom and I had wanted for a long time, but my father always said no.

I sat in the living room late one night, staring at the twinkling lights on our tree, and I felt free. I knew we we could make it through anything.


The prompt: A piece about (x), illustrated through (y).

For this week, we want the (x) to be hope.

A true story about hope, illustrated through your experiences.



17 comments:

  1. Tracie ... I love you! I love your heart! I love your brave spirit! I love that you still love your mom even though she wasn't able to protect you. I just plain love you!

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  2. Christmas is my favorite holiday because regardless of what is going on in your life, most people are happy and you can find symbols of hope.


    Those twinkling lights were a symbol, of the new life you and your mom found later.

    This was so hearty and soulbaring. You're beautiful for sharing it.

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    1. You are absolutely right about Christmas. It is very special like that.

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  3. You are a truly beautiful person.
    xo

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  4. It IS hope that we see in those twinkling lights! How beautifully you captured that sense of hope in your new beginnings. I loved this.

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  5. A moment worth remembering. Thank you for sharing each part of your journey with us.

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    1. Thank you for reading and always being so supportive.

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  6. I felt every BIT of this Tracie - boy were you brave! And you rescued your mom. I hearted this! Thank you. God bless you Tracie.

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  7. It only takes one to change a few.

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  8. Hi! You inspired your mother and together you had courage. Cheers, Lynn

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