Our Story

When my daughter was 6 years old she mentioned that she noticed I wasn't wearing a necklace she had picked out for me with her Nan. I gave her an excuse and brushed it off. 

 

Then she said it again. For a second time, I told her I love it and I wear it. But she wouldn't let it go. 

 

Something told me I needed to pay attention. 

 

We put 4 simple words down on the floor, each on a separate piece of paper.

 

See. 

Think.

Feel. 

Need. 

 

As my daughter and I stepped onto each paper one by one, she told me what was bothering her. 

 

"I see you don't wear the necklace I gave you."

"I think it isn't important to you..."

 

As she started to tell me that she had hurt feelings, she began to cry and melted into a puddle of tears in my lap. Together, we moved to the couch and snuggled until she was able to finish telling me that when she doesn't see me wear the necklace, she feels hurt and sad because it's like I don't think it's important to me. That she might not be important to me. 

 

This little thing that I brushed of, twice, felt really big to her - and I almost missed it.

 

The idea of Adirey was born in that moment. And we've had many more moments like this since. We use these tools at home on a regular basis to express our feelings in a productive way, and practice telling each other what is going on for us in a calm, caring way. My dream is to share this practice with others and help families build these skills using the tools that have helped us.