Wow, Peaches, this is such wonderful news! You and your T really connected! I hear you talking about it. You are saying that it wasn't perfect. Maybe nothing is perfect? Maybe everything just is and this is okay? I see a parallel here that maybe you can see too? Your parents weren't perfect just like that moment with your T wasn't perfect and this is life?

In the first post you talk about your sensitivity and how you have a reflex to dismiss it. This is who you are and these were your experiences and they were very significant. Your parents in their imperfect state effected you. How you were affected is very significant. It is who you are.

You got such excellent responses here. This is a really good thread.

I got through this issue with my parents. For me, I see my mother as a wounded person. This is why she neglected me. Did she choose to be wounded? No. Did she choose to hurt me and my sisters? No. Did she choose to try to get better? No. (She is 75 and things were a little different back then). All of these things can exist at the same time. I can feel compassion for my mother and then be upset with her too. It's just the way it is.........

I am really happy for you, that you have made this progress!

(Oh yeah, sexual predators are on the look out for neglected children, to address your discussion of this in your first post ......)