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  • I pick a peach rose and rested on its side

    When we talk about those we have lost it doesn’t have to mean someone has died physically, rather someone you have lost connection with or someone that decided to leave you mentally.
    I chose this topic because this relationship that I no longer have with my mother has impacted me greatly in my life,
    This was not my decision by any means but people have different reasons for things that they do.
    I have not seen heard or talked to my mother in 27 years it seems like a travesty but in actuality it’s probably a good thing.
    A little backstory:
    My mother has always been into hard drugs as long as I can remember I remember crawling on the floor through needles in my diapers and I remember the (tax man) she called him coming to her house a couple times a week with a briefcase. God only knows what was in that briefcase. As I grew up I remember my mother getting taken out on a stretcher by the ambulance and police for what I have no idea I was probably about 6 years old, My mother had a lot of mental health issues along with the drug use, My grandmother ended up sectioning her a few times I can remember bringing her to the hospital and watching her fight, kick, punch and bite The orderlies it took five to assist in getting hurt tied down in the bed so she wouldn’t hurt anyone for herself anymore. Know that I’m grown and I look back at these instances on baffled at how a mother can let her child see and hear and witness all of these things at such a young age it breaks my heart but I’ve learned to cope. I don’t think you can ever cope fully to a situation like this flashbacks always happen for me I have PTSD and night terrors about things that used to happen I remember being woken up at 2:00 in the morning when I was 5 to be told that we had to get out of the house and go live somewhere else (We were living with my mother’s boyfriend at the time)
    This happened on a number of occasions with different men. I went to a new school every year back and forth to my mom and dad’s never had a stable place.
    I do feel bad for her she missed out on so much of her life as well as mine But I do not feel bad taking my sanity back and getting myself well. Like they say when you’re at the bottom of the barrel there’s no where else to go but up so you just got to keep trucking everybody has their own faults and decisions that they have to make. I do believe drugs obviously have a hand in all of this but I don’t believe that she didn’t have the option not to get involved with it those are our own decisions to make and the path we choose does impact others and to not think of it that way is selfish. For my sake in my kids sake I chose to break the ties with her she scares me And I don’t want my kids to ever feel like I did around her so they also have never met her. I feel like I want to miss her but I also feel like that’s letting my guard down and I’m so hyper-sensitive to not becoming her I know I’m not her and I know I don’t make these decisions that she makes and I know that I love my children and would never put them in harm’s way I just can’t wrap my head around The situation still I’m 41 years old now and I’m not involved in heavy drugs I do what I need to do to survive and I’ve got a pretty level-head on my shoulders so I guess I can thank her for that, but as for showing me how to be a mother I will take the credit for that
    With all this in mind I guess the lesson learned is no one to walk away when you’re getting into deep your mental health is not worth it and the detrimental aftermath it does to everybody else
    So again I’d like to say goodbye to my mother. that part of my life is over thank God.

    Danielle Bettro

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    • Danielle,
      Such a beautiful thing to be vulnerable! I can relate on so many levels the grief a mother can bring. I also had a mother who was on hard drugs, cared more about herself than her own innocent child. It is such a loss for the one who cannot fulfill the duty placed onto their path. The strength this can give us, seeing the light is the…read more

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    • Wow. What a great letter. Sorry you had it rough like that. What an unbelievable strength you have. To stay true to yourself and not let your guard down. I can’t imagine the courage it required to say goodbye like that. You seem like a really strong girl Danielle

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  • Shelle Belle

    Dearest Shelle Belle,
    I don’t know why you are so hard on yourself. You’re learning and moving forward making the best of each new day. It’s 1993 and you have entered into the next stages of your life. Your music selection is a wide variety of artists, which speaks volumes of who you are. As you walk down the graffiti tagged streets of Denver you hold your head high even though the environment around you feels unsafe and scary, you keep pushing forward with your dreams. These streets will never break you. You have so much to accomplish. Follow your dreams. Be your own hero. Keep moving forward. They tried to dim your light when they assaulted you, but you pushed through. You never gave in. You never gave up, and for that my friend you grew into the beautiful and amazing you. A young mom at 16, just a baby yourself. You continued to grow. I’m proud of you.
    For motherhood is tough enough even when one is ready. You took it on. Life stops for no one. Each day a new adventure. Smile, but also honor the tears that you shed when you feel lost in your head. There is clarity ahead. You just have to believe.

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    • Loved this!! My favorite line is “these streets will never break you” I felt that with everything in Me. It’s tough being around crime and dangerous areas and filled with self doubt. You’re amazing and I wish uou so very well!!

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    • I just wanted to say I understand growing up in a bad neighborhood and the pressure to not follow into the crime scene. Life felt easier to just follow the crowd then to keep your dreams, but I’m glad you were still able to keep dreaming through it all. I liked how you mentioned ” honor the tears you shed,” it’s one of those things we hate doing…read more

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    • Aww This is so good. A baby at 16 is not easy. You are so strong. You have so many reasons to be proud. I am so grateful you are part of this community. Your teenage self is cheering you on and is proud of you, as am I. <3 Lauren

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    • What an awesome piece I am glad you won.

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    • This is phenomenal; I’m so glad you chose to share it

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    • Shelle, I know I commented already but I am sending you more grace and virtual hugs. Being young while trying to figure out adult and mom life is no easy task. I commend and thank you for being present even on the hardest days you didn’t give up. What’s next? What will you conquer, what would you say to your adult self as a teen? Thank you for sharing! 🙂

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