{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Bevers}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Thanks for replying. I appreciate your input. I'm not sure that it is necessary to confront anyone about the things that happened in our childhoods (although at times I feel like I would like to demand answers from my parents about how and why they could have been so clueless, and said and done the things they did). Probably, it would just make them mad and make it worse. Parents do the best that they can, some better and some worse than others, but they all make mistakes. As a parent I am aware that I have shortcomings too. So did my parents' parents.

Not to confront or blame anyone, there is value in recognizing the things that happened and understanding how it affected us. That helps us to realize that there isn't really something wrong with us that limits our potential, but that there is a reason for the way we are and if it isn't working for us now, we can change. Confronting your demons isn't an easy task, but it will make you stronger.

I don't know if there is anyone who never experienced any abuse. People deal with it differently, but I think that when you do deal with it and learn to understand, even if it has brought you down and made you hurt, overcoming it makes you stronger and better than you ever could have been if it had never happened.

Maybe it isn't always abuse, but nobody's life is free from adversity, and without adversity we would never grow.
Wendy

<font color=red>"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing." -Harriet Braiker</font color=red>