meningea

"my parents tried" other people's intentions don't excuse or erase your suffering. parents are expected to try, that's the bare minimum of being a parent, and it doesn't undo the consequences of failing to protect a tiny vulnerable human being. "there were good times too" children are profoundly capable of joy, every person's childhood contains some measure of joy, childhood should be joyful, and none of that erases the lasting trauma of the shit you went through. your childhood isn't a math problem where the positives and negatives balance out towards some neutral zero, reality doesn't work like that. "I was lucky in certain ways" and pretty fucking unlucky by the sound of it. ok so "things could have been worse" things could always be worse and they could always be better, that is a mundane and meaningless expression, and bitch it sure as thunder doesn't erase the fact that you walked through hell.

Whenever I start making excuses for other people, I try to add "and" and redirect things to my feelings and perspective.

"Your parents did the best they could."