Rooted in Love, Even When It Hurts

Last night was a hard one.

One of those moments in parenting, especially solo parenting, that leaves you raw and questioning. Am I doing the right thing? Am I too hard? Too soft? Is she pulling away because I’m showing her the boundaries she needs, or because I’m getting it all wrong?

I sat with that ache this morning. Tired, tender, and unsure. So I did what I often do when the emotional fog rolls in: I turned to my tarot deck, that quiet mirror for the inner self.

I pulled three cards, asking:
What do I need to Grow, Know, and Let Go of today?

The answers came in clear and quiet tones. Not thunderclaps, not neon signs. Just truth, soft and deep, the kind that settles in the bones.

Grow – Ace of Cups (Reversed)

The first invitation: Feel without judgment.
Not just the beautiful or tidy feelings. The whole, messy wave.

Grief for a hard night. Fear that I’ve fractured trust. Love that’s so deep it hurts. The quiet ache of wanting to get it right. All of it.

This card reminded me: I can’t pour from an empty cup. And I can’t keep corking up the feelings I don’t want to admit. Repression is not resilience. So today, I grow my capacity to sit with my own emotional landscape, to soften to it, not shame it.

To stay rooted in love, even when it hurts, even when it’s hard.

Know: Ten of Swords (Reversed)

This card came as a whisper from the part of me that knows:
You’re not broken. You’re healing.

Even if it doesn’t feel graceful. Even if there are splinters from old wounds that still catch in the present moment. I realized some of the pain I felt last night wasn’t just about my daughter; it was deeper. Older. A fear of being abandoned. A fear of failing someone I love.

We don’t always get to choose what surfaces in a moment of tension. But we can choose to stop bracing for betrayal. To stop expecting the worst from ourselves or others. And to know that healing is not linear, but it is happening.

Let Go: Hierophant

And then this one. The rule-follower. The teacher. The keeper of tradition.

In the “Let Go” position, the Hierophant called me to release my grip on the idea that there’s a perfect way to do this, that if I just follow the right parenting script, I’ll avoid all pain, all mistakes, all disconnection.

There is no formula. No five-step plan that guarantees understanding or keeps hearts from aching.

So I’m loosening the reins today. Letting go of the idea that I have to know everything or get it all “right.” Trusting that connection isn’t built through perfection, it’s built through presence.

What I’m learning, slowly, and sometimes painfully, is this:
Love asks us to stay.
Not just stay with others, but stay with ourselves.
Even when we feel lost. Even when the path isn’t clear.
Even when the only thing we can do is sit in the discomfort and choose not to shut down.

This is the work. This is the way.

And I believe we’re all doing better than we think.

Maybe there are others feeling stretched thin, if you’re questioning your own heart or your role in someone else’s life, know this:
You’re not alone.
You’re not broken.
You don’t need all the answers.
Just stay rooted in love.