Greetings Nicole —
Here it is ‘Mothers’ Day’ weekend and memories of my mom continue to haunt me. Even in the very end, when illness would be victorious and her life would cease to be it remains bittersweet. But the best gift I gave to myself was telling mom and dad that I forgave them for their choices and that I still loved them. Because of their choice, I would be raised as an orphan and that bond between a son and his parents would never happen. Eventually I gave up my desire to have anything to do with them and I became quite bitter and hard-hearted towards not only them, but life as a whole. It would become an unseen weight that I carried with me, and it had the potential of destroying me from within.
But because of the acts of others, I found ‘forgiveness’ but the toughest person to forgive would be myself. When I was able to cut loose the straps of that weight off my shoulders, I became a whole new person. I will never regret learning how to accept and give ‘forgiveness’. It all begins with making a choice to walk away from your past, forgive those who have hurt you so deeply and learn how to live all over again. I truly want the very best for you, Nicole.