“come here”
“kneel for me”
“Do we have a problem?”
“Can I touch you here?”
“Shhh I won’t hurt you”
“You feel so good”
“Just a little more, I know you can take it.”
“You take it so well”
“Look at me”
“mine”
We can “see our parents as people” with “their own traumas” who “did the best they could” while also being honest about the fact that (for some) their best was harmful, violent, horrific. For some, their continued behavior adds to the horror and our distance saved our lives.