Persevering Paige

Today, Braden and I went to apply for passports. Neither of us had ever been issued a passport before, so it was a first for both of us. The lady handed my application back to me and told me that I needed to fill out the top part which was asking for my parents’ names. I asked the lady, “My parents are not living. Do you still want me to fill it out?” She said yes. I have been so used to skipping over the part about my parents—FAFSA, changing my wedding invitation format to remove the parents’ names, that I guess I just thought to skip over it. It felt so good to write their names down, to still need to write them down as a part of me. They feel so far away and the world has made them feel as if they aren’t relevant anymore, because I can’t see them. Today was a gentle reminder that was much needed.

Later, as we were waiting for things to be filled out, I heard this same woman talking to someone else about how she had lost her Mom to ovarian cancer. I didn’t tell her my story, but I feel like that’s where I was meant to get my passport today. ❤️