By Rex Fisher, PhD
My home office is a museum for old tools and similar artifacts. Many of them belonged to my grandfather, who was a carpenter, a painter, and a craftsman. There is one curio among my collection, however, that has never been owned by anyone besides me.
When I was in first grade, I found a stone in the school playground that resembled the head of a hatchet. I thought it must have been from an old Indian tomahawk. My dad helped me attach it to a wooden handle and it became one of my favorite toys. It was tied together with only a leather cord – not rawhide – so the head was always a bit loose.
One day when I was about 12 years old, I was swinging it around in my bedroom when the stone head came off. It flew across the room and cut a hole in the wall. Terrified, my brother and I rearranged the room’s furnishings to hide the hole behind our dresser. Because we were young boys, we forgot about the hole after a short while. But, moving day eventually came!
As the movers carried the dresser to the truck, the forgotten hole was exposed. There was no hiding it from Mom and Dad, who had to repair the damaged wall before we could complete the move to our new home in another state. It would have been so much easier to fix when the damage first occurred instead of waiting until moving day. Why didn’t I tell my parents sooner?
Many of us carry around psychological and emotional scars that we have hidden for years. We may have done a good job at covering them up – for now – but they will eventually come to light. They will never be easier to fix than they will be right now. Waiting to deal with them later is never a good idea.
The right therapist can help you repair those hidden scars and get on with your life. Call or text Terri Fisher at Fireproof Counseling for a consultation.
(Rex is married to Terri Fisher, a marriage and family therapist who provides equine-assisted counseling and family counseling in Itasca, Texas.)