So many of us adults feel shame, and too many of us feel we need to hide something. Maybe we hide how we feel or what we really think. Or we keep something secret. Even as we talk about being authentic and visible, something keeps us from showing our whole selves. Maybe we could learn from our children… 

When I first moved to the UK from America, I thought the biggest challenges would be the big things — new job, new marriage, new home. And while those were big, it was the little things that made me feel foreign: realising I didn’t know how to lock a back door (you lift the handle up), or tripping over words that meant something entirely different here. Those small differences piled up until I felt untethered. 

As the days get shorter, I'm reminded of my first autumn living in the UK. Before I moved here in 2017, everyone warned me about all the rain. No one told me about the darkness. When I arrived, the days were already getting shorter. I found a job and began my daily commute. It wasn’t long before it was very dark when my workday ended.