For years, I wore independence like armor. As a single mother, I had to. Every win, every bill paid, every dream funded, I did that. But in the chaos of this season, I discovered a softer, deeper kind of power: interdependence. The kind that doesn’t diminish you but fortifies you.
It doesn’t just take a village to raise a child. It takes a village to raise a mother. To remind her that her worth isn’t measured by how much she can endure, but by how openly she can receive love when life gets heavy.
When the insurance company finally finished their so-called “repairs,” my car gleamed on the outside but still rattled underneath. It felt like a metaphor for the way we often treat our own healing… polishing the surface, pretending the alignment is fine, hoping no one hears the tremor in our voice. But healing, I’ve learned, doesn’t happen through appearance. It happens through connection.
The people who showed up for me didn’t fix my problems; they steadied me while I fixed my perspective. They reminded me that community is a kind of nourishment; the kind that fills your soul when your cupboards of energy are bare.
As Eros heals, laughter slowly returns to the house. The kitchen smells of sautéed vegetables and baked salmon again. I now drive a leased new car, smaller but full of the little luxuries my boys love, a sunroof, heated seats, auto-back door, good speakers, a sense of peace. It isn’t the car I wanted, but it’s the one we needed. It keeps us moving forward. And every time I grip the steering wheel, I remember that life’s dents and dings don’t define us; the love that carries us through them does.
So here’s to the ones who show up with casseroles, rides, kind words, or quiet prayers. To the neighbors, clients, and friends who remind us that independence doesn’t mean isolation. To the sons who teach us that humor and grace can heal even the deepest bruises.
Because true strength isn’t driving alone, it’s knowing who will help you steer when the road gets rough.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of us and this amazing village!