Mary,
I met my child self. I took her in my arms and cradled her and rocked her and told her no one would ever hurt her and no one would ever throw her away and I would always take care of her and she could stay with me forever. I met her during a guided imagery session while listening to some tapes by a noted psychologist. She was so frighted, feeling abandoned, alone, shaking, wanting love that she had never received and parenting she had never known. So I became her parent. I re-parented myself. I learned to love that little girl and take care of her. Up until that time, I didn't know what anyone meant when they said, "Goodbye now, take care of yourself!" After that experience, suddenly, I knew! Instinctively, I knew it was that little girl I was supposed to care for. She was the root cause of all the pain and anger and fear I was still experiencing as an adult.

After that experience, (I was 38), I decided it might possibly be an OK thing to have a real child of my own. Before that, I saw no value in children. So, when I was 41, I became a mom. It was the happiest day of my life. He still is my greatest joy.