Being an older first time mother and knowing Sydney will mostly likely grow up an only child, I try to surround her with loving, trustworthy people. Without brothers or sisters, I feel like it's even more important to have a strong network of friends, for her and for myself. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of that until recently. Someone I trusted 100% let me down in a big way. It was hard enough for me to trust people when it was just my emotions on the line, but now I'm putting my child's heart on the line too.
It's said often you should trust your instincts. What happens when you do that and your instincts are completely wrong? I can tell you one thing for certain, not only do you feel betrayed by the person who hurt you, you feel betrayed by your own instincts. I don't understand what drives people to act the way they do. What causes a trusted friend to take your care and concern and twist into something ugly?
There are so many things to worry about as a mother but the thing that scares me the most these days is broken hearts. Broken bones can be fixed without much lasting damage, but a broken heart can change the course of a child's life.
So yeah, whoever came up with that saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me", they were a few fries short of a happy meal. I'm making a pact with myself right now to never ever utter those words to Sydney. I don't care who you are, words hurt a lot more than being smacked upside the noggin with a stick!