The Gift of the Bee

This morning, I received what I’d like to call the “Gift of the Bee.” While I was in the kitchen, my 12-year-old daughter suddenly froze, her eyes wide with fear. Concerned, I asked her what was wrong. She pointed silently toward the dining room, where a bee was buzzing around.

Though it didn’t seem like a big deal to me, I quickly helped her grab her breakfast from the table. With her meal in hand, we walked out the door and headed to school.

After we dropped her brother off, I softly asked, “Do bees and wasps terrify you?” Her response was so quiet it was almost a whisper, but she said, “Yes.”

I reflected for a moment, recalling her summer camp experience. I remembered how, in the cabin she stayed in, there had been a wasp nest and a few wasps flying around. Thinking about how she must have felt back then, I asked, “Were you terrified for those two days before someone was able to get rid of the wasps?” Again, she answered softly, “Yes.”

And that’s when I received the gift. In that moment, I was able to truly understand her feelings—not through my own perspective of how I might interpret a bee or a wasp, but by seeing the situation as she did. For a few minutes, we were completely on the same page. After months of feeling misunderstood, she finally felt heard.

When we pulled up to her middle school, she hopped out of the truck, turned back, and said, “I love you, Dad.”

The morning routine was different. Today, I was truly given a gift.

#dismisstheullusionofknowing #listening #connections #daughters