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The Perfect Paragraph Nestled in a Perfectly Practical Parenting Philosophy
You are rocking this parenting gig, Jessie Waddell, and bringing hope to others
I adore collecting perfect snippets of prose: the ideal first line, the finely crafted sentence, the deliciously satisfying final mic drop. I geek out when I find words crafted together which fit their story perfectly and are also beautiful on their own.
Read this from Jessie Waddell:
I’m not built for ‘the hustle’. I get overwhelmed easily. Spare me the lectures on resilience. I am a delicate flower, and I need time to sit idle in order to bloom. If I’m constantly getting thrashed about by gale-force winds, my stem gets all bendy, and my petals are scattered all over the place.
What makes this paragraph perfect in my mind is it works on every level.
First, it makes an important point and does it well. Jessie is pushing back against some common wisdom. She is standing up for herself in a way that is highly relatable.
Second, it fits beautifully into the story I plucked it out of: Apparently, I’m a Lazy Parent and If the Shoe Fits…
Third, the imagery works to sell both the emotion and the argument. We’ve all seen flowers battered by the…