If You Tell Yourself You

She Wondered If This Was True Of Every Parent: If, Prior To Having Children, They All Used To Be Someone Else.

Sometimes Knowing What's Right Isn't A Rational Decision, Or Even What Works On Paper. Sometimes Leaving Is The Best Course Of Action After All.

Grief Is A Curious Thing, When It Happens Unexpectedly. It Is A Band-aid Being Ripped Away, Taking The Top Layer Off A Family. And The Underbelly Of A Household Is Never Pretty, Ours No Exception. There Were Times I Stayed In My Room For Days On End With Headphones On, If Only So That I Would Not Have To Listen To My Mother Cry. There Were The Weeks That My Father Worked Round-the-clock Shifts, So That He Wouldn't Have To Come Home To A House That Felt Too Big For Us.

Sometimes We Don't Know We're Dreaming; We Can't Even Fathom That We're Asleep.

There Are Some Nights When You Just Want To Know There's Someone Else Besides You In This Wide World.