{"id":43365,"date":"2018-01-04T01:13:59","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T08:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/what-being-called-the-dead-baby-girl-taught-me-about-labels\/"},"modified":"2018-01-04T01:13:59","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T08:13:59","slug":"what-being-called-the-dead-baby-girl-taught-me-about-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/what-being-called-the-dead-baby-girl-taught-me-about-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"What Being Called the \u201cDead Baby Girl\u201d Taught Me About Labels"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLet\u2019s play a game,\u201d my aunt said wiggling her slim body into the center of the inner tube. Six of us were floating down the Frio River during our annual family reunion?\u2014?though walking the river would be a more accurate depiction of July in\u00a0Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s play, What\u2019s Your Label!\u201d Her excitement was equal parts enduring and annoying. I\u2019m not a game person. I\u2019m also not familiar with the game of labels. Yet there I was hearing myself say, \u201cI\u2019ll go\u00a0first\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDead baby\u00a0girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

It literally leaped off my tongue into the air and landed like a thud in the water. \u201cDefinitely. Dead baby\u00a0girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Eryn Brooke Photography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a label I overheard at\u00a0work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t remember who spoke next. Though everyone did as family members contributed to the game, creating a chain reaction?\u2014?\u201chypocrite\u201d\u2026 \u201csingle\u201d\u2026 \u201cwork\u201d\u2026 \u201cblonde\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t fun. It was<\/em> formative.<\/p>\n

I had fallen prey to the lies of labels\u00a0early.<\/p>\n

It started out innocently: my parents telling me I\u2019m good, smart, pretty, religious\u2026before it moved to labels like I\u2019m bossy, a know-it-all, emotional, loud\u2026disrespectful.<\/p>\n

I was raised wearing labels that prioritized what others saw in me. I also got pretty good at giving out labels. As an adult, these labels had become heavy and confusing.<\/p>\n

Can you\u00a0relate?<\/em><\/p>\n

It makes sense that after decades of wearing everyones labels that as a mother (especially a mother of a dead son<\/a>), I\u2019d attract new labels. And yet this label was different.<\/p>\n

Saying \u201cdead baby girl\u201d outloud shifted my insides. As soon as I said it I felt a release and an internal echo from my pounding heart, you are <\/em>not<\/em><\/strong> the dead baby\u00a0girl.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the last two years I\u2019ve actively practiced releasing labels?\u2014?speaking labels\u2019 lies outloud, moving through the painful tunnel of emotions to find love and acceptance waiting on the other\u00a0end.<\/p>\n

Now the only label I remember feeling from our floating misadventure is\u00a0brave.<\/p>\n

What label lies have you been wearing? Any bring up pain? Anger? Speak them. Let whatever emotions come up wash over you. Sit in acceptance and find love waiting.\u00a0Repeat.<\/em><\/p>\n

Want to read more? Clap to let me\u00a0know.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\u201cLet\u2019s play a game,\u201d my aunt said wiggling her slim body into the center of the inner tube. Six of us were floating down the Frio River during our annual family reunion?\u2014?though walking the river would be a more accurate depiction of July in\u00a0Texas. \u201cLet\u2019s play, What\u2019s Your Label!\u201d Her excitement was equal parts enduring… Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":43366,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[174,377],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games-media","category-gaming"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t