Chapter 14 - I Stopped Calling Myself Protective
For a long time, I described myself as fiercely protective of Nora.
Then therapy ruined that flattering story.
My therapist asked:
“Protective when?”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“When you see danger?”
“Yes.”
“And when danger is quiet?”
I had no answer.
I had protected Nora dramatically once I saw her crawling across marble.
But the months before that mattered more.
Protection is not only charging into a foyer.
It is checking why your child keeps asking whether you’ll be home.
Listening when her version conflicts with your spouse’s.
Knowing her care plan.
Reading the school note.
Not outsourcing emotional interpretation to the adult who sounds most confident.
I stopped telling myself the slap proved I loved my daughter.
The slap proved I lost control.
What proved love afterward was boring.
Appointments.
School meetings.
Medication checks.
Bedtime conversations.
Showing up early.
Believing without blindly assuming.
Investigating without dismissing.
That was harder.
May you like
And better.
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