Moving Towards the Fear

In a recent childbirth class I was keeping an eye on a mom who had the familiar ‘deer in the headlights’ look and who was preparing to bolt out of the room at the end of the class. I had been acutely aware of her throughout the class and wanted to check in with her before she was out the door. (Had no idea what was going on, I just knew that I needed to touch base with her.) Her face was a little pale and her eyes riveted on the door as I touched her arm and asked “Are you Ok? How was the class for you?” Tears filled her eyes and she could not speak. I stepped closer and motioned for her husband to move in too… we spent the next 10 minutes talking about how afraid she felt… when they left, the icy look had melted and she had color in her face. She hugged me and walked arm in arm out the door with her husband. The take-away- too often in life, we avoid people and situations that look or feel tense and awkward… sometimes we just need to move towards it to make a difference…