courage – Ivy

Being a Brave Girl, Part Two

When he took the first picture of me presenting, I couldn’t look at him.

“Come on, kitten,” Sir coaxed. “Look at the camera. Smile.”

Nervously, I turned my head and straightened my posture. But I couldn’t figure out how to hold my face. In the picture, I look anxious, unsure, like I’m trying hard to please but I’m not quite sure how. Still, he was proud of me.

He set the phone down and grabbed me by the hair, pulling me over a nearby chair so I was kneeling with my face buried in the seat.

“Wait here, girl. I’ll be back to use you in a minute.”

The door closed behind him. I was so excited I could barely keep still.

hisprerogative:

no need to be nervous. you’re in half-bloom. take my warmth. let it wash over you and shed the last of your fears.

Growth can take so much courage.

And yet, sometimes, there’s an eagerness in my reticence.

“Don’t wish me happiness. I don’t expect to be happy all the time… It’s gotten beyond that somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor. I will need them all.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea.

“My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.” – Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic.