emotional

a girls guide for grieving your dead baby

cry – 

every morning when you wake up and wish you didn’t

in breathwork but only when no one’s watching 

when you bury your face in the blanket he was wrapped in

when you hear a baby laugh because you never got to hear his

when the masseuse says “don’t you have a baby at home?”

when the only pregnant woman in your workout class asks to be your partner 

when the pilates instructor asks “how far along are you?”

when you get his footprint tattooed on you as if you could ever possibly forget 

when your friends tell you they’re pregnant 

when your friends tell you they’re sick of their kids 

every week in therapy 

on the acupuncture table because that’s where you used to talk to him when he was in the womb 

after sex with your husband *sob more than cry

every single time you see a young redheaded boy

when a psychic tells you “your son wants you to know he’s happy where he is”

anytime you try to get dressed or look in the mirror because you haven’t forgiven your body for it’s betrayal

every time someone tells you this isn’t something you’ll ever move past

and when your cries turn silent –

bellow from a place deep in your chest every time you miss the weight of him, let the world hear a woman really roar

scream at the steering wheel and be surprised at what comes out, you haven’t met this version of yourself yet

welcome her

become, become, become

-tbrumm

find the lie

oh, honey. all fire but no flame. in over your head and hiding under an argument, flailing and fragile and trying to forgive yourself for knowing better but saying yes anyway. mad at everyone else for a choice they told you not to make. soon you’ll see the difference between what he gives and what he’s taking. soon you’ll feel the difference between who’s just barely bending and who’s breaking.

-tbrumm

backstroke

I wake up every day where I always said I wanted to be and still I wonder if he’ll ever love me like I think I need him to or if I’ll ever again feel as proud as I did telling people I was moving to New York.

He cooks and cleans and walks our dogs in the morning so that I can get that extra 15 minutes of sleep I swear I need to be happy and I spend my time talking myself out of doing what I love most for the fear of finding out that I could get everything I’ve ever wanted out of life and still not be happy; terrified to find out with certainty what I’ve always known to be true: I don’t know how to be happy.

So I am starting my 28th year of life trying to be positive, reminding myself daily how lucky I am just to be breathing, no matter how shallow the breath. I am starting my 28th year by climbing out of a big, dark, freezing, pool of depression and I’m sitting here, clothes still drenched in sadness, and I am trying. I’m walking on sunny sides of streets, I’m drinking more water, I’m brushing my hair at least half of the week and I’m crying during the second to last song at Soulcycle because it’s the only healthy release I know.

I am trying – to kick, push, or even doggy-paddle my way to the other side of this.

-tbrumm

Greenpoint Ave.

A year ago I wrote, “Standing on the corner of Greenpoint Ave., I looked up at him and thought, I am not worthy. I am less than.

But time has passed and my hair has grown back down to my hips and we both live in Manhattan, together, and he admits standing in our kitchen that he is not worthy and while he cries I close my eyes and tell myself, You are not too much as a result of his being too little.

I’ve been here before, in this position. It varies, it evolves, but I’m always here: an emotional fetal position. Crippled by the idea that the men I love could ever betray my trust with girls I’ve spent my entire life trying to stand apart from.

-tbrumm

Take care 

Today I celebrate one year of self-discovery, 12 months of wringing the hate from my heart drop by drop, 52 weeks of mental growth, 365 days worth of the strength used to get out of bed each and every one of those mornings, 525, 949 minutes of pushing forward and away from this exact day one year ago. And here I sit, challenging myself to a year of digging deeper, looking closer, and seeing clearer.

-tbrumm