Shelby hasn't had as many opportunities to be with friends as much as everyone else, so I asked Ashlee if Shelby could possibly come to stay with her for a week. She had had a taste of being with them without her siblings a few weeks ago when she rode home with them with plans for us to follow behind. However, I got super sick about an hour into the drive and ended up needing to turn home, leaving Shelby with Ashlee for a few days. Her girls and Shelby mentioned many times since then that they wanted to do it again, so Ashlee agreed. We met in Issaquah yesterday for a week of fun.
She sent this selfie to me that night. It does my heart good to see my girl smiling so big, looking so radiant in her joy. She's rarely smiled that wide when she was the only one home while her siblings were out having fun with their friends.
Both of my girls have struggled with friend issues at this age. It breaks my heart. I wish I could sit down, then and now, and talk with the girls that shun, bully, and leave my girls out and beg them to look past the mental illnesses my girls have and see them for what they really are-- diamonds in a world of cubic zirconium. The pressures of their lives have made them strong and beautiful and so, so valuable in the eyes of those that love them most.
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