“Revolution might sound dramatic, but in this world, choosing authenticity and worthiness is an absolute act of resistance.”—Brene Brown
Just finished Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection. It’s a short, inspiring book, a perfect read for the day I took my daughter back to college. She (my daughter, not Brene) has been home most of the summer and, even though this is the second year I’ve taken her to college, dropping her off for a whole year (it was much easier dropping her off for four hours of kindergarten) still pulls on my heartstrings.
So in honor of moms and daughters and Brene Brown, I’d like to share this story from Brene’s fabulous book.
She and Ellen, her daughter, decided to run to the mall for a quick run-in and run-out. Brene hadn’t washed her hair, was wearing sweats and hoping like hell not to run into anyone she knew.
Eight-year-old Ellen, inspired by an exuberantly joyful song, began doing the robot (it’s a dance they often do at home) in the shoe department. Right in front of, as Brene describes it, “a trio of gorgeous women, tossing their long (clean) hair over their narrow, square shoulders as they perched on their high-heeled, pointed-toe boots, and watched their equally beautiful daughters try on sneakers.”
She says her default setting would have been embarrassment and a diminishing look at her daughter. But instead, as she watched those “magnificent moms…and their daughters visibly on the edge of doing or saying something mean-spirited,” she decided to join right in.
She says, “We stood in the middle of the shoe department and practiced our moves until the song was over. I’m not sure how the onlookers responded to our shoe department Soul Train, because I didn’t take my eyes off Ellen.”
Bravo Brene! And bravo for writing such a wonderful book.
Pam Grout is the author of 16 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality.
5 Responses
I´m in the middle of listening to Brené Brown´s “The Power of Vulnerability” by Sounds True and your post pinged in my inbox. I read it and than continued listening. Guess which story Brene Brown is telling only 15 min later?
This is a fantastic read! My daughter (she’s 20) and I dance all the time. I’ve had other moms suggest it’s because I’m too close in age to her so I don’t know how to parent. I say ‘pish posh’ on them…dancing is a part of parenting!
Reblogged this on Bodaciousjournal and commented:
My Mom’s the best”, Thats what Brene Brown’s daughter will tell all her friends.. deciding who is important and doing what your heart says …Priceless
Thanks Pam , I read everyone of your posts !! 🙂