It's Okay... Really It Is

Sometimes the words just won't cooperate...

Today is one of those days for me... Yesterday was one of those days for me... At least when it comes to writing this blog post.

I planned to write about mothers, but the words just wouldn't come. So I've sat and stared at the screen. I've written and erased and written again. I've thought. I've researched. I've done other chores.

But no matter what I did the words just wouldn't form.

Sunday was Mother's Day in the United States, so I felt obligated to write about mothers or about my conscious choice to not become a mother or about being a daughter or about the pain that accompanies Mother's Day for some people for one reason or another. But, I'm not going to.

Instead, I'm going to give you the permission I just gave myself. When something just isn't working, sometimes you just have to let it go. You have to let yourself off the hook. You have to see that it's okay if your priorities shift and you need to focus on something more important than what you had planned. It's okay if you just need to give yourself a break. It's okay if you just can't do that thing that is expected by society, by family, by friends, or even by you.

Be yourself. Be imperfect. Be loud. Be quiet. Just be. Be with others. Be alone. Be what you need.

It's okay.

And, right now, I'm going to take my own advice.

T. L. Cooper is an author and poet whose work aims to empower and inspire through an exploration of the human condition. Her poems, short stories, articles, and essays have appeared online, in books, and in magazines. Her published books include a collection of short stories, Soaring Betrayal, her Silhouette Poetry Series, and a novel, All She Ever Wanted. She grew up on a farm in Tollesboro, Kentucky. She currently lives in Albany, Oregon with her husband and three cats.

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