Inner Strength

My daughter is everything I wish I could be. She is strong, beautiful, intelligent, caring, giving and independent.
The other night we were at home watching television and she reminded me that there was an episode of NCIS that she wanted me to watch. It is one of my favorite shows to watch so I was kind of surprised I hadn't seen it before. Without going into too much detail about the show I will give you the plot instead. A man who was an abuser was killed. Luckily they didn't show him beating her otherwise I couldn't have sat there and watched the show. They did show pictures of her from the times she had been to the hospital. I realize this was a movie and therefore not real yet I found myself reacting. I think of the images of myself in the mirror. My children were too young to notice plus I was struck in places that were not visible and my hair always helped hide the bruises. The other parts that were not seen except by myself were the times I sat up in agony from the physical pain and my broken heart just watching him sleep. Although it was so long ago I still see those images of my bruises when I look in the mirror and I still think about the tightness in my chest and in my throat when I remember. It is good to remember for the sake of healing. Not mine, yours. My daughter helps me to heal more than she realizes.