One day I found myself with 2 young daughters, sitting in my bedroom and crying my eyes out. I called my sister-in-law first and asked her if my parents had their same phone number. She said “yes” and I called them. My mom answered and I immediately started crying and eeked out "Mom, I need help." And she said “What has he done to you?"

I felt as if I had nowhere to turn but to her and my dad. She told me she was going to drive up, and I said “No, I'll handle it.” She said “What do you need?” and I told her I was heading for a divorce and my job was becoming painfully difficult. It was so helpful that I eventually was in contact with my sister too who was intertwined with this mess. I spoke to my brother and sister-in-law more, and soon after visited with everyone face-to-face.

We caught up on so much family news, celebrations, illnesses - family stuff that was overwhelming but a necessary thing to do. And it was so unforgivable on my part when I realized the damage, hurt, and pain I caused and the time wasted in our lives.

That was so many years ago and I try to understand why people do this to themselves and others. The only rationale I have is people have to go through discourse to reach the answer or it's part of their mind or ego to stay entrenched.