Sweet Shoppe Designs

Journaling reads:

It is true... the sun will come again. Some times it just takes longer than other times I guess to see it. I am finally at a point in my life where I can honestly say that my life is as I had always hoped that it would be. I am free from the oppression of my parents for the first time ever, and I am 37 years old. I guess I could focus on how long it took me to be strong enough to stand on my own and finally let go, but instead I am going to be proud of myself for gaining the courage necessary to step away.. I mean, they are my parents, and whether they were shitty ones or not there is a part of me that still feels like... I don;t know... that's my mom, I want to be close to her and have her support and love. My father,.. well, it is hard to come to terms with the first man ever in your life not wanting you and not deeming you worthy of his love. I guess it took being a mother and having someone to put my love into unconditionally to let go of those things. For me to have a husband that would love me above all else, to be patient enough for me to learn that when he said he loves me he really meant it, that he is not going to go away and leave me like they did. That perhaps there was nothing really wrong with me in the first place, but perhaps it was them. Maybe they should not have been parents at all, really. Maybe growing up with them gave me the fortitude to deal with things in life that might have knocked a weaker person down and yet here I am, a survivor. Some days I still feel so ugly on the inside...let alone on the outside. Some days I am still unsure as to why on earth my husband loves me, what he could possibly see in me. Some days I know I am not a great mom,. But... some days now, well ... some days I see the sun as well. Some days the sun shines so bright I see a glint in my eyes and see that they are pretty. Some days I notice what a good wife I can be.. Some days I notice how loving and compassionate a person I am, what a loyal friend I can be, what a good mommy I am. Some days, on days like this, I put my face to the sun and soak up the warmth and I know with all my heart that I will survive the storm again and I will see that sun soon!

Lovers, Dreamers & Me by Traci Reed and Krystal Hartley