I’m proud of you.
For waking up. Every day. For showering whenever possible.
For seeing the mountains of work to be done,
morning after morning, and going to it.
For holding her up when she couldn’t climb any further.
For shouldering his pack when you were exhausted.
For smiling when
inside, you were breaking.
I’m proud of you for greeting this morning with something like kindness.
I know it’s easier to fling yourself into despair
and berate the world for all it’s done,
to give up on living a better
or more interesting
or engaging life.
It’s easier to shut it down.
Close it down.
Lock it down.
I’m proud of you for opening, again and again,
in the face of all the world’s frustrations;
for staring all those reasons to give up in the eyes and standing
again, today, in the middle of the mountain.
I’m proud of you for putting one foot in front of the other
despite having lost the summit in the clouds long ago.
I’m proud of you. No caveats, no despites.
I’m proud of you.
P.S. It’s okay to stop hiding.
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