My home church, Calvary Baptist in D.C., now has a security system where one must call inside on a phone to gain access to the building. Whenever I'm home for the summer or a week in the winter, and find I don't know the person answering the phone, I hear myself saying, "I'm Carol Blythe's daughter." These words give me a green light.
What power do those words have to open doors and clear pathways? For Mothers' Day, I've spent some time reflecting on what it means to be Carol Blythe's daughter.
I'm Carol Blythe's daughter, I hear a word as I'm floating about the house, and I'm triggered to belt out a song or make one up if needed.
Upon moving to a new city, I am pulled like a magnet to the most progressive Baptist church around, because I'm Carol Blythe's daughter.
I'm Carol Blythe's daughter, so I leave the house to go out, then come back in to grab my water bottle, then turn back again to grab my keys, then run back again to grab my phone.
I wear skirts that show my hairy legs, and I love myself this way, because I'm Carol Blythe's daughter.
I'm Carol Blythe's daughter, I inhale books as if they are air.
I set all my watches and clocks five minutes early in hopes that one day I will arrive somewhere on time, but when I do show up incredibly late, I tell my friend, "I had left the house at the time we were supposed to be meeting," as if this is a great achievement, and it is, because I'm Carol Blythe's daughter.
I'm Carol Blythe's daughter, so if there is a friend within a 100 mile radius of me with nowhere to stay, they are well fed and sleeping on the futon in my living room.
My sister Laura Beth reminds me of how we use our off days to give service to causes that feel genuine -- meals for shelters, cleaning schools, visiting church elders, creating fun activities that feed connections with kids and Downtown Social Club -- because we're Carol Blythe's daughters.
I'm Carol Blythe's daughter, which means there was no possible way I could have been friends with Carol Blythe in my adolescence, as my stubborn streak and determination to carve my independence in the world constantly caused friction with the woman who gave me all of this.
