One Word Is All It Takes

"Breathe" meant so many things to me so I decided it was the right pendant for me. I wore it home. A few days later my daughter and her best friends came home from college. One of them has had such a hard time over the past many years. At thirteen, she lost her mother to a tragedy. Immediately after this terrible event, her father neglected her in every way possible. He medicated his own pain with alcohol and moved a new girlfriend into their home 6 months after the mothers death. The girlfriend is an alcoholic and was unkind at best. Over the years I spent a great deal of time with her and many nights had to soothe her, but I am not able to take away her struggle or her pain. She is beautiful and kind and strong and, slowly, I see her getting more involved with drugs and alcohol and cigarettes and I am helpless. The other night she stopped by with the group of girls and she was telling me yet another story of neglect metered out by her sick family. This time they had a family Christmas and had invited her at last minute simply because they had not choice. She was crushed. She was angry and speaking loudly and quickly. I had just told the story to the girls about the necklace. I was standing over her and, although I am a licensed therapist and own a treatment business I have difficulty with what words to say to her that I have not said many times over the past 6 years. So I took off my necklace and put it around her neck and simply said "breathe". Sometimes one word is worth more than many. Thank you