Hello Pearce,

Wow, what a story. I had no idea ovens ‘lock’ and do that haha!

Reading your response has shed a lot of light on how I berate myself. I like that you called it “throwing out trash.” You’re absolutely right, it is trash. I’m not going to lie, I almost got a little teary eyed reading the last bit and paragraph where you were talking about releasing all the things that tie us down, your step-father, and coming to the realization of how beautiful we are.  Releasing the “Phoenix”– I’ve always loved that symbolism of rising from the ashes. It’s very beautiful. I recently saw a meme that said “Shoutout to the pain that gave me understanding.” I took it to heart and I think I really understood what it meant. I have to take my painful experiences and not let them be a reflection on myself, as a validation for self-loathing. People that hurt us can also be a lesson as to how we never want to be, so I thank you for that. I never thought of it that way with my ex.

Thank you so much for your response. And I like to star gaze, but I will look at my “glass ceiling’ and think our your words.