He was very wounded when I met him, but I didn’t know it. I was hurt too many times by so many people from such an early age that I couldn’t recognize friend from foe. He needed me. I needed protection. We moved in together and learned about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I learned he hits back, and harder. He learned that although I am loyal and I will not leave, I would not take it lying down. I got up on my own two feet and he knew it. We still have some wounds, but we used love to heal them. It took years of abuse and neglect to create the scars that made us who we were. It took longer to erase (most of) them. However, in the meantime, our love created children and grandchildren. They learned when they saw us at each other. They didn’t know the scars we were trying to remove, they just saw the tears. The cycle of violence and neglect is hard to end. One daughter married someone damaged, she thought she could change him. She thought she could do what she saw her mother trying to do with her father. She couldn’t, so she got away. Yay! The other daughter is just angry. Seems she will never know why. Keep trying, ladies! I love you. If I had loved myself a little more to begin with, well, we’ll never know. I was lucky. I got up and he had to change or lose me. Love is powerful. Self Love is the Most Powerful!