You've come a Long way, baby

Anyone who reads the news and knows where I work can probably guess that this is a tough week for me and my colleagues. 

The supportive emails and texts I received today from friends and family were just what I needed and meant a lot to me - thank you.

With the exception of a few moments when I felt pretty emotional, most of the day I was entirely focused on our efforts to show the incredible impact of our work to help cancer survivors, in preparation for what(ever) lies ahead. 

While productive, it wasn't until I was headed to pick up the girls from school that I began to actually consider how I felt about today. 

How fortuitous that at bedtime I came across the perfect book to read with my girls, Franklin Fibs. In the story, Franklin the turtle fibs to his friends that he can swallow 76 flies in the blink of an eye, but he can't - and he knows he can't. Franklin's attempts to fool his friends and get out of his lie are unsuccessful, and he feels terrible, can't eat, can't sleep. When Franklin considers confessing his fib and coming clean, his parents reassure him that then he has the opportunity to focus on the truth. 

It's not exactly the same (duh), but it was an opener for a discussion with Larkin and Layne about the importance of being honest and enabled me to process my feelings a bit. 

Me: "Why is it always important to tell the truth?"

Larkin: "Because if you tell a story and it's not true then people will believe you."

Me: "And how does it make you feel when someone tells you something and you believe them, but then you find out it isn't true?"

Larkin: "Sad."

Layne: "Frustrated."

Yes, that's exactly how I feel. 

I am sad and frustrated because I believed someone when he told me something, and then I found out it wasn't true.