Willow Girl
Bend, don't break. Tears are okay.
What this friend is telling you
Willow Girl stands under a great weeping willow that leans all the way down to touch the twilight pond. Here is the willow's secret: it bends way, way over in a storm — and that is exactly why storms never snap it. Stiff trees crack. Willows dance and survive. Crying is not breaking. Big feelings blow through, you bend, you drip a little like willow branches on the water, and then you rise back up. Soft and bendy lasts longest.
Watch out for…
saying "I'm fine" when you are storming inside. Bending means letting the feelings actually move through.
Try this
When the big feelings come, tell one safe person: "I'm having a hard day." That is bending out loud, and it works.