Just a Girl

On a recent Sunday morning Emma had a field hockey tournament. She had to be out of the house by 7:00 AM and there was going to be a celebration after the morning game with her team. Friends on the team offered to give her a ride, so aside from getting her out the door with lots of layers it was a normal Sunday morning. The rest of us got ready for Mass and kept our regular schedule. As we headed out the door I realized that Em didn't have her house key so we decided to leave the door unlocked. We weren't sure when she would get home but just in case I wanted her to be able to get in.

Emma played her game on the frost covered field and then they celebrated the season. The team celebration consisted of snacks by the field and player awards. Emma received the "Most Coach-able" award. It wasn't a long celebration so she got dropped off at the house before we got back from church. Em texted both Jim and I, but of course we didn't get the text because we were in Mass.  I never considered the need to tell her our morning schedule since it was our standard routine and I guess she never realized it was Sunday and we must be at Mass. By the time we did get home Em had been there for awhile. Emma avoided us and closed her door. She seemed irritated and anxious. I checked in on her and she had tears in her eyes. "I didn't know where you were", she said. She accepted my hug and I could feel her melt into it. 

Nothing bad had happened she just didn't know where we were. She didn't need us to be with her she just needed info to have our absence make sense. She didn't have the information that made her feel safe. She is a just a girl. A wonderful, sensitive, strong girl who needs us to feel safe.