For the past eight years, I have worked hard to overcome the difficulties associated with trauma recovery and parenting. It has been anything but easy. I have wanted to quit many times but I am far too stubborn and willful for that. Throughout the process, there have been little miracle milestones that have kept me on track (or put me back on track). These miracles may not seem like miracles to some, but to me, they were incredible experiences. They are incredible because they are changes in the way I viewed the world. My perspective changes. And that is a miracle.
While there have been many miracles, there have been a few that I remember best. One day, I was standing in my kitchen and it suddenly dawned on me that my children were the same as me. I don’t mean they were the same person. But my internalized belief that children were at the bottom of a human totem pole was blown up in an instant. I realized that they were no different from me. They were only born a little later. I wasn’t smarter than them. I wasn’t more privileged than them. I didn’t have more rights than them. I was simply older than they were. I had more experience at life because my birth date was before their birth date.
That began an avalanche of changes in my relationship with my children which continues to this day. I am rediscovering how to communicate with them. I used to believe it was my job to control them, to tell them what to do, to make sure they didn’t do anything stupid. In reality, it is just my job to teach them, to teach them what I learned in the 34 years before they came to this planet. And they are here to teach me too. And that is exactly what they do.
Don’t get me wrong, they still have to be disciplined when they blatantly ignore my basic safety rules. I am their parent, not their friend. But there is a difference in our daily interactions. When they ask how to do something, I respond with respectful instruction as I would to a friend. When they get frustrated with a task, I let them work through the task while supporting their varying emotions about it. When they do something ridiculous, I do my best to respond respectfully as I would want someone to respond to me.
But it isn’t easy. I never had parents who respected me. Honestly, until recently, I did not have respectful relationships at all. There weren’t many positive comments coming in my direction. And of course, it would be easy to project all of my insecurities on them, and disrespect them as well. But that doesn’t do any good. If I stop the physical and sexual abuse of my children, but I can’t respect them as individuals, I haven’t done enough to break the cycle. They will still grow up feeling they are less than others. They will still battle the demons of insecurity that I battle every day. That’s not fair to them.
But don’t get me wrong, I am not fooling myself. They are on a human journey. They will not leave childhood unscathed. They will have their stuff to address. And that is why I must respect them. Because it is our relationship that will determine their ability to listen to me one day, the day when I tell them they must go to the shadows. They must look in the dark corners of their souls for the dents they carry with them. And if I never listened to them, why would they listen to me? There would be no reason for them to do so.
So I will continue to work on my respectful communication every day. And sometimes, I will fail miserably. Sometimes, I will stand in the kitchen asking myself why I just said that. And then I will apologize and my kids will say what they always say. “It’s ok Mom.” They will say it because they know how hard I try to be the best mom I can. They will say it because their lack of traumatic experience makes them trust on a level that I can’t fathom. They will say it because they intuitively sense my genuine love for them.
And then one day, when they screw up, when they have to examine the depths of all that makes them human, when they have to apologize to their own children, I will be there to tell them “it’s ok”. And I will do so respectfully. And they will know that it really is ok to be human, to be a bit of a mess, and to be respected anyway.
This is wonderful! You are breaking the cycle and you are giving your children the best gift you can ever give them in your own healing, in your honesty and your respect for them. I relate to what you write here, I too was raising my young children while healing from sexual abuse. I used to worry so much that I was messing them up, but I knew deep down that every little bit I healed was benefitting them. And for a child to see that their mother can make a mistake, own up to it and apologize, teaches them a great lesson on what it means to be human. And it gives them the permission to make a mistake, knowing that they will be accepted, listened to and forgiven. My children are now 19 and 21 and I learn from them and am amazed by them every day. Despite the mess that I was, they grew up to be amazing, well-adjusted and healthy young adults. Every dollar every tear, every bit of energy, every therapy session, every moment I spent on healing has benefitted me and I think them even more. Healing is an amazing thing – it ripples out in so many directions. Keep up the good work Elisabeth and thank you for sharing yourself here!
Thank you Liz. I love hearing stories like yours because it gives me hope that my kids will turn out ok in the end. Even though I do everything I can, there is always that little nagging doubt. I hate that little nagging doubt. 🙂
This has brought me to tears. It is so difficult to remind myself that mistakes are natural. When you mentioned standing in the kitchen regretting what you had said … I know that feeling all too well. I find it so difficult to be the disciplinary figure as well as the nurturing parent…alongside battling the roller coaster of emotions post trauma. I can’t help but feel so guilty that my children have to witness my emotional struggle at this time. There is so much fear that they too will feel affected by the waves of emotion they have seen me battle. This is the first time I have ever responded to anything I’ve read online, because your story genuinely touched my heart. Thank you for sharing, it has provided me a sense of acceptance and hope that they will still feel loved and accepted…because I am determined for them to have a better childhood experience than myself. Perhaps I’m not the only one feeling so much guilt and fear for not being a “perfect” parent at this time. Thank you
Thank you Mia. The closest we have to a perfect parent is one who knows their not perfect. Hang in there. I know how hard it is. I really know.
This was really encouraging. Thank you for writing it.
Thank you Ashana.
Elisabeth, I admire your courage and your tenacity, to continue to move forward and be the best you can to yourself and your children. Your children are so blessed that you broke the chains that could have imprisoned them also. Thank you for your vulnerability and your honesty. Blessings to you and your children.
Thank you so much! I am glad we connected here.
I am also. 🙂
I love this!! Almost made me cry. So very true and deep! I will most definitely be re-reading it again and again. Because there is so much truth in it. Wow. If only we all thought like this……
Thank you so much!
Elisabeth, Wow, great sharing! I too especially struggle with memories of my unstable behavior as a young mom and its affects on my children. However, I do know they feel loved and respected too, thank goodness. The awareness you wrote about, being able to apologize, and model being a healthy mother is wonderful. We can all work on being more aware of our behaviors and the resulting affects on others. Then we can make positive changes step by step. It’s truly a worthwhile practice. Bless you, your family, and readers here.
Wow! Two for two! It’s the journey of humans for sure, but it’s also the journey of heroes. I think that’s the essence of what Joseph Campbell spoke and wrote about– that the varied stories told through our cultures are about us, ourselves. We tell ourselves these stories to remind ourselves of the path that we and our progeny must take. And yes, the stories talk about mothers and fathers, sons and daughters– avoiding the pitfalls of jealousy, corruption, and so on– to take the quest, to seize the Treasures of wisdom, compassion, and more, and to become One with the true masculine and feminine. The bardic spoken legends of old become the webcomics, movies, television serials, and music of today.
So true!
This is such a wonderful article, Elisabeth. Our children are truly our greatest teachers (at least mine are!), and the greatest motivation to continue the work of recovery. Thank goodness for them……
Thank you my friend. I agree completely.
You are absolutely correct Elisabeth. I’ve always believed people are people regardless of size and age. They all deserve the same respect. Children are growing and learning to be mature. I’ve noticed many children act more adult than many adults. I’ve noticed many children have a perfect sense of self and are self aware than many adults. I was envious of them when I was not self aware. I appreciate them even more now. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thank you Keith.
I’ve been realizing what I’ve done wrong with my kids. And now I know everything is up to them. I know how many mistakes I made with them. Trying to control them was not a smart idea, because since they are like me they will go against it, which makes it worse is the fact that their father is as stubborn as I am. My kids and I aren’t talking right now and hopefully sooner or later they’ll come around.
I am so sorry C.C. I hope they are able to find their way in their world and you can all know each other again. It takes a tremendous amount of humility on everyone’s part to heal from these things. Love to you.