Glitter and Glue

Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Years ago, my dad leaned over and told me that I was the glue - the one that pulled everyone in the family together no matter the circumstances. At the time, I was touched, grateful to be noticed. Other times, I was exhausted by that notion - after all, I wasn't one of the parents. I was just the oldest child; a circumstance of birth I had no control over. Whatever the feeling, my family has been my whole world, and so Kelly Corrigan's endeavor to define the almost gravitational pull we feel toward our parents is right in line with how I understand my life. In Corrigan's case, her dad is the glitter and her mom the glue. She doesn't say that one role is more important than the other. She just shares how she came to appreciate her mother's less glamorous, often harder, role in her life.

I have always said I am my father's daughter. We often think the same or approach a situation with the same determined logic. But since having my son, I have spent many more hours with my mom. We've shared an unconventional parent-child road with me often being the listening ear or the one doing the encouraging. However, as I watch her with the baby, I can see what she was like with me when I was growing up. I get to hear her sing the songs or patiently spoon bite after bite of baby food into Hudson's mouth. Like Corrigan, my mom is a sort of North Star for me, a steadying force in every situation. I so appreciate Corrigan's work once again providing a lens with which to see my family in a different light.

If you haven't read Corrigan's work yet, jump right in. It's more than worth it. Happy reading--

(Book 15 - 2019)