Melba,

THANKS for posting this! I get such hope from your stories of change.

I've been stuck in the painful part of awareness of patterns I'm not so proud of, mostly about emotional responses that are rough, responses that are not nurturing or caring.

Yes, it's great when one of those little miracles happen and you are able to give more to those you love (esp kids) because of Therapy.

Had a little miracle myself tonight- my nephew was really obsessed with getting a used computer and was very upset when I did not give him money for it. He hid in the store and sulked, then wouldn't get in the car. Rather than get punative and go to consequences, I was able to take a breath and use simple validation- "it's diappointing when you were excited about something and don't get what you want" He had SUCH a great turnaround and we enjoyed the rest of our night!

And I know I was only able to do this because I can now catch my negative thoughts - along the lines of "oh, grow up, don't make a fuss" and recognize that's about my past, and not helpful, really....