Most of us have at least one issue we have to “work on” during out lifetime. Often, probably most often, it was something that happened in childhood. And when we hear what others went through, somehow it helps us process what we went through.
People may think you have to have cruel parents, or be beaten or abused to have issues from childhood. But it isn’t true. I was not beaten, and I wasn’t abused, but I had numerous traumas in childhood that caused me to spend the bulk of my adult years working to heal. Listening to what others went through and what they did to help themselves, often helps us.
Here is my follow up podcast. Hope it helps your healing. Feel free to pass it to others.
Your posting about childhood healing is amusing in light of the information you took from my mother and brother and determined to be indicative of parent victimization or some kind of character trait rather than as a child hiding from an abuser who was actively hunting her. Your written comments constitute flat out libel, slander & defamation. My mother and brother clearly succeeded in gaining your pity by lying about horrible childhood events, which had absolutely nothing to do with my mother’s ability to manage her finances. Did you ever ask yourself, gee, why didn’t they involve the police? Because the police would have seen the belt welts on the child’s legs and back, that’s why. That child was me. Did it occur to you for 1 second how disgusting it was for an old woman to describe a child in that manner and for her elderly toddler son to back up the hunting story as if it was something to be proud of? Every encounter I have had with him over the past 10 years has been marked by hostility and his inability to express himself as a thoughtful adult. Thanks for reminding me of those horrible times and retraumatizing me with the reminder of those violent childhood events. The truth is that I was born to a violent family. I did run away from home as a child because the streets were safer than my biological home. I was fortunate to always have an angel on my shoulder and was taken in by a friend’s grandmother where I lived safely until my status was reported to the authorities at which time I gladly surrendered to a safe and predictable environment. That friend’s mother was a social worker so acceptance to the grandmother’s home was akin to a modern day child protection placement. My brother was completely absent, he has no personal knowledge whatsoever about the reasons why I was a childhood runaway or successive events. FYI, no child runs away from safety. Further, it was my choice not to return to my biological home until I was guaranteed no further physical abuse. My brother has said ugly things to me about my childhood that could be described as misogynistic and pedophilia. I don’t know or care about his motivation to trash children, young women and women in general. Child Protection Laws were enacted in Colorado in the 70’s. Anti-Stalking Laws were enacted more recently. Thank God. Your adoption and repetition of the child hunting story demonstrates your abject ignorance about child abuse and family dysfunction. Child traffickers flourish due to the type of ignorance you demonstrated in your libelous letter. At the time I asked the court to protect my mother there were legit concerns which were flushed out and determined by a District Court Judge, not me. Later, when my mother sought to remove her conservatorship, the determination was again, made by a District Court Judge, not me. As a matter of fact, I watched her testimony and fully agree that after 2 years she appeared large and in charge, confident, processing information independently etc. That was not the case when I sought court protection in 2015. It’s a matter of public record that she gave away HER HOUSE to relatives out of financial frustration, which was the worst possible decision and a predatory transaction. She was clearly vulnerable. Protecting my mother was a significant expense which was justified when the District Court Judge started his bench Order by acknowledging that we have a “dysfunctional family”. My regretful involvement with my Mother’s financial health began when she requested my assistance in 2012 to regain possession of her house from dishonest relatives. No matter the excuse, they could have assisted her without gaining ownership of her only home. The matter of mother’s home ownership is a matter of public record. Look it up. I have always helped her as a courtesy with whatever she needed but I never will again and I am fully relieved that I am nowhere in her presence and will have no knowledge of her transactions or of the constant financial demands on her from people who take advantage with a smile. Dementia was never the issue underlying her conservatorship, the issue was her ability to independently manage her finances. An older sister managed mother’s finances from 1998 to approx. 2013 as a result of learning that mother let her health insurance lapse and was seeking care for PNEUMONIA from a “doctor” similar to you. It’s notable that you never returned my phone calls to inquire about the excessive fees you charged her. Truly, the $75 charge for a 6″ piece of masking tape to cure her sciatica was hilarious but she did receive psychological benefit from the tape and the comforting language that went with it. I personally saw and touched the magic tape. She was very proud of it. The issue was not the fake “cure” but the fact that she was buying into your snake oils on a very limited senior budget. I am eternally grateful that her toddler son is taking care of her and I no longer have to witness such nonsense and dishonesty. She is elated to have him in her life as he avoided her for decades. The abused child went on to have a successful career as a an attorney despite the family dysfunction and has never needed or wanted anything from her family. My family is riddles with jealousy, resentment, hatred. Be thankful if you are blessed with a good family. I recently ran across your libelous letter when I was doing a periodic review of files and filing. Shame on you. Prisons and mental institutions are full of cute old ladies that claim they were somehow wronged. You’re quite gullible but I understand your personal financial interest in adopting and advancing sob stories. I survived ovarian cancer which has a 5% survival rate, important to my recovery and survival was keeping my dysfunctional family at arms length. It’s common for cancer survivors to acquire ptsd. For me, ptsd meant triggering awful memories long buried. Folks like you remind me of the importance of child protection laws and laws developed to protect women from stalkers and all other types of criminal abuse. The abuse I endured as a child is classified in today’s terms as child endangerment and felony child abuse. I’m surprised but not surprised that profound ignorance about child safety still exists. You clearly committed libel, slander and defamation against me but my focus was on the protection issues so I pushed your idiocy aside. The comments in your letter about your opinion of mother’s mental state or whatever you were trying to say about her were totally appropriate and based on your personal observation. The comments about my childhood were completely inappropriate, especially for someone who holds herself out as a professional. I see that you are an anti-vaxxer and that’s about all I need to know to make an assessment about your overall scientific knowledge and credibility. Bring back polio, german measles and chicken pox. Yay. People bristle whenever they receive communication from an attorney. No worries. The statute of limitations for libel, slander and defamation claims against you have long passed. You may want to consult your insurers about whether you have coverage for such as it appears to be your practice to publish false and unverified information about complete strangers. Good day.
Footnote to my comment above: my experience with child abuse and family dysfunction was useful during my esteemed career as I spent decades representing children as both court-appointed juvenile defense attorney and guardian ad litem. FYI, in Colorado most courts have a division dedicated to Juvenile matters. Juvenile Law is a unique area of legal practice. I always enjoyed it because it is an area where an attorney can make a tangible difference for a child and family. In representing thousands of children I can say that I did not represent one single child who did not have a concerning home environment. Thank you.
Please disregard prior comments. Difficult topic. Taking a breath and singing kumbaya.