The Power of TLC

Every once in a while, regardless of your age, you just need a little TLC. Every one does. Even me…the independent single mom who’s raising two kids far from any semblance of a support network.

Toss in a couple of rough weeks, and, well, that TLC was not only needed this past week…but craved.

Fortunately for me and my cravings (and a plane ticket that brought me to New York), I got a much-needed dose of the stuff compliments of my aunt…a woman who has been both a mother-figure and a friend to me for more years than I can count. She listens. She gives great hugs. She’s a master at providing the I-believe-in-you puff of air I need to get my wings back off the ground. And she never fails to make me feel welcome…

A winning combination in my book. Especially right now. When that little bit of TLC is as much a lifeline as anything else.

So there we were…in the city…with an entire afternoon/evening at our disposal. An afternoon/evening I couldn’t have enjoyed more.

Thanks to her volunteer work as a tour guide for the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center, I got to go along as she gave a behind-the-scenes look at this cultural gem. I got to see the sets being made, costumes being sewn, wigs being created, props being crafted, actors rehearsing, stage hands readying the stage for that evening’s performance, and more.

And I was enthralled.

For those few hours, I was able to immerse myself in a new experience while creating a memory I will revisit many times over the next few months.

A memory that I will carry with me the remaining ninety-five percent of the time…when I’m back home and running with the ball by myself once again. And it’s that moment–and the dinner/amazing conversation that followed–that I will call on next week when I’m getting slipped into yet another MRI machine for yet another test…and again a few days later when I hear the results.

So how about you? What are some recent TLC moments you treasure? Did they give you the boost you needed?

 ~Elizabeth Lynn

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