Childhood Experiences and Memories
I spent Christmas this year in Arizona and got to spend time with my beautiful niece Lilly. My time with her is always way too short and I love her to pieces. I sleep in her room when I am there and on Christmas night, I was looking at some pictures of her that I found on her dresser and all of a sudden, this deep sadness washed over me and I found myself crying for the next hour or so. Lilly is 3 years old - so full of innocence, energy, personality, and is growing up so much every day and yet still loves to have someone cuddle with her. Her world consists of her mommy and daddy, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, her friends at school and each day is a brand new adventure. As I looked at those pictures and thought about my time with her over the past few days, I couldn't help but think that I was 3 years old when my abuse started. I look at Lilly, at ALL children, and can't even conceive of hurting them in that way. The thought never even crosses my mind. I can't compr