07/09/2026
Please read caption! I found this old home video today, and it made me smile.
My mom asked me about my day at school.
“Did you have a good day at school?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Did you cry?”
“No.”
“…Yes, you did….”
Then she asked, “Are you going to cry tomorrow?”
Without hesitation…
“Yep.” 😂
A few moments later she looked at me and said, “You’re a big girl.”
You can almost see it on my face. I stood a little taller. I felt proud. One simple sentence changed the way I saw myself.
I think there’s something beautiful about all of this.
As kids, we don’t think crying means we’re weak. We cry because something felt big, and then we wake up and try again the next day.
Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that tears are something to hide.
They’re not.
One of the greatest privileges of what I do is getting to witness people exactly as they are, not just on their best days, but on the hard ones too. I’ve learned that people don’t need permission to be perfect. They need permission to be human.
This little video also reminded me how much our words matter.
A genuine compliment.
“I’m proud of you.”
“You’ve got this.”
“I love you.”
“You’re a big girl.”
They seem so simple, but you never really know what someone is carrying or how deeply your words will land. Sometimes the smallest sentence becomes part of someone’s inner voice for years.
And if you haven’t picked up on the message yet…
It’s not only children who need to hear these things.
So if today feels heavy, cry if you need to. It’s also OK to cry tomorrow. I’m certain I likely did.
Tell someone you love them.
Send the text.
Give the compliment.
Remind someone they’re stronger than they believe.
Tomorrow, show up again.
