Yes ma'am. I think all told, we owe ourselves this forgiveness people keep speaking about. And like Anne Lamott said, and I'm paraphrasing here, if people wanted to be remembered/written about more warmly they'd have treated us better. I think this applies to our lives as well, whether we write about them or not. Fuck the ones who treated us like shit. I don't have to remember them warmly, I don't have to remember them at all, actually. Once I've processed the trauma, I can forgive ME for allowing it to happen and move on. I don't have to forgive them, they don't deserve it. I don't need to carry love for them in my heart in order to heal. That's giving them a pass for shitty behavior. No thanks.

Excellent piece, wifey. Love you dearly.