04/30/2026
I had a realization in therapy today… and it’s kind of long so strap in 😬 (pic so post doesn’t get lost!)
So with my birthday the Friday right before Mother’s Day, and loosing 2 of my grandmas in 2 years who’s birthday’s are also close to mine, I’ve been SAD to keep it short.
But with that being said, i want to talk about how this is showing up for me as generational trauma and cycles, and specifically how it impacts in my daughter!
Dating back further than I can remember, on any side of my family, women have been shown and expressed love through abuse and control. Love has ALWAYS been conditional. And it NEVER lasts, so don’t get comfortable.
So this obviously continued with me not being shown love in a way that was healthy or supportive, and seeking validation from others. And because love already looked chaotic and unstable, the people who presented those traits MUST’VE loved me… Add in the lingering feeling that good things never last, and I’m trying everything I can to make “love” stay.
But with my daughter I was able to make a difference… and THIS is where my realization was!
Yes, she has grown up seeing me accept abuse, but she has also never gone a second without knowing that her mother loves her.
Love is not conditional for her!
Love does not hurt her!
Love does not make her cry!
Love is safe and doesn’t go away because she did something minuscule!
Then include seeing her own mother walk away from abuse from not only family, but men who just “loved her too much.”
My daughter is the first in our family to know what true unconditional love looks like from her mother. And I can only hope that as she grows, she doesn’t accept less than what she’s been shown and given by me! Because only then will we break those cycles!