Just because I turned out fine

 Just because I turned out fine doesn’t mean I want my child to grow up the same way.

Yes, I survived.
I learned to keep quiet when things hurt.
I learned to earn love by being easy.
I learned how to shrink myself just enough to be tolerated.

But I don’t want survival to be their baseline.

I want my child to know what it feels like to be safe in their body.
To speak up and not be punished for it.
To make mistakes and still feel worthy of love.
To rest without guilt.
To cry without shame.
To belong without having to perform.

I’m not throwing stones at the people who raised me.
They did the best they could with what they had.
But I’m allowed to want better.
I’m allowed to build different.
I’m allowed to create a home where wholeness is the standard not silence.

Because I didn’t become a parent to repeat patterns.

I became a parent to rewrite the story.