Soft and Strong

It's one of the most controversial subjects in America today, with citizens taking sides. Toilet paper: soft or strong? Go down to your local store and stand in the toilet paper aisle you and will see exactly what I mean. Some of the packages say SOFT! Soft is the only way to go, right? But wait. Some of the packages say STRONG! Well, strong is important, too, I suppose. Then there are those wafflers, those centrists, those middle of the roaders who can't seem to take a stand on anything. SOFT AND STRONG!

Soft and strong. Which brings me to mothers, since Sunday is Mother's Day here in the United States. The ideal mom is a combination of soft and strong. When you get hurt and you're bleeding and you're scared, you want to run to Mom and have her hug you all soft and squishy like. But you also need her to be strong, because you could be bleeding to death and if she starts to freak and fall apart, well where would you be? Moms should always be that soft place to land, a place where everything is good in  your world, where you feel all loved and cared for and warm and fuzzy. But the soft place you landed in needs to be strong underneath all that softness, to hold you up and support you.

Are you lucky enough to have a mom like that? Not everyone does. Mother's Day can be a tough holiday for those who perhaps have lost a mom, who are estranged from mom, who perhaps really never had a mom.

No matter how old we get, we never outgrow our need for a soft place to land. I know we may look all competent and confident on the outside, carrying our briefcases and wearing our suits, driving around going to important places, but inside each of us still lives a child who sometimes just needs that warm and fuzzy, soft and strong place.

Are you lucky enough to have someone in your life (doesn't need to be your mom) who is your soft place to land? And more important, are YOU that soft place for anyone?

Susan