I watched the waves.
“Sometimes, we teach people how to treat us without even realizing it. We say yes so often that they eventually forget we can say no.”
Claire squeezed my hand.
“I don’t want to forget that again.”
We walked a little farther until a wave washed over our ankles.
Then Claire suddenly ran away.
“Catch me if you can!”
I laughed and chased her for a few meters before stopping, breathless.
“That’s enough! I’m not as young as I used to be!”
She came back toward me, grinning.
“You’re beautiful, Mom.”
I shook my head.
“You only say that because I’m your mother.”
“No,” she replied. “I say it because I can see you.”
Those words were so simple.
But they found their way into a part of my heart that had been waiting years to hear them.
I wasn’t just a mother.
I wasn’t just a grandmother.
