The One Thing

I’m friends with a woman whom I have always thought to be incredibly strong. I met her in a single mom’s group when I was a single mom. She had shared with me that she wasn’t going to let her divorce get her down.
She committed to do the one thing: putting on her lipstick every day.
“This became my defiant refusal to give in to the despair, fear, worry, self-doubt, etc; that I was battling on the inside," she said. "So, for me, taking the time to face myself in the mirror each morning, affirming my worth by making the best of what I've got to work with, taking a few minutes just for me, carefully highlighting my smile (and yes, damn it, I am going to smile!)... "

Every morning, willing or not, depressed or not, she pulled herself up out of bed and applied her lipstick. I’ve never forgotten my friend’s determination. It reminded me that just maybe during this grieving process, I already have my one thing.

I started this 365 blog just a few days before tragedy came, because another friend mentioned it in passing on her blog. I have to laugh at how many people recommend writing through such an event. Maybe Joan Didion’s book The Year of Magical Thinking was just such an exercise.
Eventually, we get through the period of time that causes us so much pain. When you look over your life what pulls you through? What is your one thing?