I was recently reading a book and a question was posed: Who was there when you got hurt as a child? This is an important question as I learn about attachment theory. I’m still at the very beginning of learning about attachment, so I don’t have much to share about that, but I almost burst into tears reading that question because I realized I felt emotionally alone when I got hurt or sick as a child.
I have a scar on my forehead from when I smacked my head on the corner of a coffee table when I was 2 years old.
I have a scar on my left knee from getting a liiiiiitle too reckless riding my bike one day.
I sprained my ankle in kindergarten.
I burned my thigh in or around kindergarten too.
I somehow got a splinter under my fingernail around age 13.
I sprained my elbow on my 16th birthday.
My mom was at almost every single one of these events for me. She attended to my physical needs– and was generally gentle and caring. But I still felt emotionally alone after these events.
This might just be my brain, or it might have been my mother’s limitations.
I hope I am better for my own children.
Do you feel like you were emotionally soothed?
Denita
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