abuse

Not to Me

by A Mother May 19, 2010
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When you made me bend over Face down on the bed And hold the position While you used the red paddle Or the oak switch Or the board When repeatedly the sound Of my flesh being struck filled the room And my silence was cause for more blows And my cries of pain were seen [...]

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Don’t Go There

by Constance Gilbert May 7, 2009

I don’t know about other cultures, but we Americans have a bad habit. For instance, we go to Burgers ‘n’ Stuff for a fast lunch only to have to wait in line forever because they are training a new employee. They ran out of iced tea and the sandwich is not what we ordered. The [...]

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Remove the Fears

by Constance Gilbert March 2, 2009

I was filled with dread as I slowly climbed the high school stairs. By the time I reached the third floor, my fears had mushroomed to Hiroshima-size. My legs could barely hold me upright. My heart rate had at least doubled and was pounding loud enough to hear. Entering my college English classroom, I stood [...]

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No Mistakes Made, Part 2

by Constance Gilbert September 10, 2008
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How do we understand our “irregular” person’s behaviors? How do we cope with those behaviors? How do we handle our emotional responses? How can we possibly forgive her and seek reconciliation? Those are the questions I left with you last month. Or as in my case, “Lord, why did you give me these parents?” Or [...]

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No Mistakes Made, Part 1

by Constance Gilbert August 11, 2008

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of [...]

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Grandma’s Coming!

by Constance Gilbert April 5, 2008
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Oh, how I dreaded my grandmother’s arrival every summer. It always ended with my parents arguing, my mother threatening, and undue punishment for us kids. When I was very young I remember visiting Grandma in her apartment. My mother would give us strict orders not to eat or drink anything, and not to use the [...]

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The Smells of Days Gone By

by Constance Gilbert October 9, 2007

Do you remember the first time you received flowers? From a man? I do. I was seven and feeling pretty miserable. I had been to the hospital to have my tonsils removed and about the time I was feeling better, I broke out in a rash. The “hard” measles meant I was stuck in the [...]

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Where’s Hope, Love and Joy When You Need It?

by Constance Gilbert August 1, 2007
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I truly love the articles and stories about loving mothers and grandmothers. They have become the role model I never had. Like many women, I come from a dysfunctional family. Yet the problems of our mothers and grandmothers do not have to be passed on to the next generation. I know—I broke that chain, and [...]

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