I used to wonder why it all felt so heavy

 I used to wonder why it all felt so heavy.

Why love felt like walking on eggshells.
Why I carried so much pain that wasn’t mine.

The little girl in me still flinches sometimes.
Still waits for the other shoe to drop.
Still aches for the safety she never had.

But now I’m a mom.
And I see it all so clearly.
The patterns. The silence. The hurt passed down like it was normal.

I’m the one choosing to stop it.
Even when it’s hard.
Even when I want to run.

My kids will grow up knowing what love really feels like.
Not the kind that keeps you small or scared,
but the kind that holds space for all of you.

I break the cycle every time I choose to listen instead of yell.
To hug instead of punish.
To stay instead of shut down.

This healing hurts.
But it’s worth it.
Because it ends with me.