"I wanted you to see what real courage is….
It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway
and you see it through no matter what.
You rarely win, but sometimes
you do."
~ Atticus Finch, in Harper Lee's, "To Kill a Mockingbird

I remember Mama's king-sized bed, indoor playground for a child.

Its headboard, a garish marriage of gold leaf and carved pressboard,
was a perfect balance beam for size one feet.  My sister and I would
mount it from the gray, four-drawer metal filing cabinet off to one
side, scale its length with the wall as our never-miss "spotter", then
dismount by tip-toeing onto the bedside table, or in adventuresome
moments, cannonballing onto the middle of the mattress. 

The bed was a slippery splash of polyester and pink roses, the
embodiment of beauty and sophistication and style to my little girl
eyes.  Adult eyes recall 60's synthetic delusion.

Atop her rose garden refuge one day, lying on her side and playing with my baby brother, her world stopped spinning…

~ Please "Unintentioned Lessons" at (in)courage ~

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As I , (in)courage officially launches TODAY, and I'm thrilled to join and with inauguration day posts!  Though the story I chose to share is threaded with pain and loss, I hope you'll see courage, encouragement and hope most of all.  Be sure to read …when I read Rachel's response, I was moved to tears and had to remind myself of these very things TODAY. 

There's also a giveaway for the STINKIN' ADORABLE limited edition (in)courage tee shirt I'm wearing!  You have until Sunday to enter, so be sure to check out for details!  You'll be (in)couraged from reading the front of it; and encouraged when reading the back!! 🙂