I look at my youngest daughter and I can sense her pain. I know she feels alone. I know she doesn’t trust that I’m here for her. My words don’t reach her when I say, “I’m here for you”. How could they? Even though I tried to be a good mother, it didn’t manifest the way I hoped. I wasn’t ready when I had my first daughter and I wasn’t ready when I had her.  And today, I still feel ill-equipped for the role of being their mother.

I feel helpless and frustrated. What was the point of enduring the harrows of life if I can’t save my own daughters from experiencing the same? I’ve learned so many important lessons—but I don’t know how to pass those lessons on to my children.