Out for Repairs

My worst quality is thinking I should fix people who haven’t asked for repair.

When my children were children, my fixing fixation was in full gear. They had issues, to be sure, but fewer than I detected.

The trap of making one’s children into symptoms in search of a disease is a tricky one. On the one hand, a good mother doesn’t want to miss anything that needs tending to. On the other, being on the receiving end of someone’s fixing, no matter how well-intentioned, can be crippling. It takes only minutes to turn the fixing inside out: I need fixing, therefore, I am a mess.

I’ve tried fixing a few friends. So often solutions to a friend’s problems seem so obvious and available like beautiful plump cherries landing on the table, their green leaves still attached. Here, I’d say, just take this wonderful cherry. It’s just laying here for…