A text you can send to your spouse/teenager/young adult that will crack something open and create a shift that will change you both from petty, self-protective strangers into your real selves:
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Hey, my life is a mess right now in about 3.5 different ways and I know you can see that. I know you know. I am sorry for hyperfocusing on your messes and pretending that I have mine all figured out. I want to be more real with you, but it's so hard to be that vulnerable. I want to though.
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Imagine if you ever got that text from a parent or any adult! What would it feel like to cut through the bullshit and, instead of watching them "act out" their struggles, you could both have just related and understood each other's humanity?
What would happen next? Really, tell me what you predict AND if you send this or some version of it to someone you love, please share with me privately or here what the response was.
I love you and I am here.