“This new normal is lonely.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but I felt it.
Eating alone in my room formed a little dark rain cloud over my head, but it wasn’t as lonely as eating at the kitchen table after the kid gobbled down his food and couldn’t wait to get out of there.
So, we ate alone. Him with his Xbox and me with my Art.
One day I came across a photo of a wolf, and it called to me. Being my spirit animal, I felt the connection and so I jumped right into the challenge of drawing all that fur.
The Lone Wolf. That was me, the lone wolf.
At least I thought so.
It was a good first try. It just wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it’d be.
The next day I found a photo of a chimpanzee mom, with her child nestled in her arm.
The portrait emerged as if by magic, pulling me out of the darkness with each stroke of the pen.
This “Lone Wolf” isn’t it… it isn’t me… but a “Mother’s Love” is. It’s about US.
The New Normal is US.
It was then that I found my calling. It was here that I turned the page on a new chapter.
The love and safety that comes from a parent to a child.
That’s what I vowed to give my son.
Even if he’s outgrowing this phase, he can still get the love, the support, and the safety that foster care took away.
