Hello Dr. Laura,
Those that don't truly listen may find you on the surface as tough and unsympathetic, but I find that to be a falsehood. I am so incredibly touched when you share personal moments with us in order to help. For instance, you shared a very private moment with us about your father in one of his last lucid moments. You asked him if he loved you and he answered with an "of course I love you". You then walked around in the backyard pondering on those scarcely heard words, wondering why you weren't feeling the emotions you'd expected from them, ALL to help a caller with her despair from her troubled relationship with her father. Or the time you spoke of your intense panic attacks after your husband had his heart attack to help a caller deal with her immense stress after her husband's heart attack. Then you told her about "Shirley" pacemaker, making the caller smile and giving her hope. Or in order to help a caller, the time you spoke about defending your mother being called a "dirty immigrant" and how you didn't get the reaction from your mother that any child would've wanted. There are countless moments of your deep pain that you bless us with the knowledge in order to assist us in our own growth, healing and acceptance. It is a priceless gift.
Then despite your strained childhood, you still find moments of goodness about your parents you've shared, such as your mother's hidden savings to buy a patio or your father giving you a dime and telling you to call him if your date didn't open the door for you.
You're also an amazing mom. Your stories of motherhood inspire us to mimic those same qualities in our own relationship with our children. For instance, the time you "protected the house from monsters" and had your son and his friend push a button to keep the monsters from digging under the protective force field. Or how you used to take your son to the park and let him run in the sprinklers, or the stories of how you'd lay in bed at night and talk about the day, or how you stood up at a martial art competition and yelled "who's kid is this?!" or when you took on a principal about a stupid math project. All these stories, make us strive to be better mothers.
There are also funny stories about you that make us feel close to you, like the time you wondered why a "pot stop" was needed before a Pink Floyd concert. Or the time you ruined your one and only good blouse when your lab partner cried her eyes out on your shoulders, or when an ex-boyfriend fretted about crumbs you left on his counter. I can go on and on, please know that we know you give a piece of your soul to every caller that will embrace it. You are an admirable, integral and loving woman. Thank you for being you!!
Sandra
