in some ways

my daughter said this to me last night and i was deeply pleased by it.

in some ways, you're a very good mother.

and i told her,

i'm glad you can see my good and bad points. because everyone has them.

she didn't elaborate, and i didn't ask her too. i just wished i could get the same kind of honesty, same kind of candor from most of the adults in my life.

i don't need props. i don't need anything other than the truth. even when it's hard, the truth is still more of a comfort than delusion.

i thought about that a lot last night, as i repeated,

in some ways.

and it was a peculiar comfort. and then, drifted off to sleep.