Gemotions

The letter was a message of disapproval. She discovered the letter, addressed to her child, while clearing out an old desk. The letter had been written by her mother, years ago. The words were a cold judgment of her parenting choices, her personal failings, and the future she was building for her child.

She read the letter, each sentence a stab of judgment, each word a cruel reminder of her own inadequacies. The criticism, the disapproval, all felt painfully familiar. She felt as though she could never measure up.

She crumpled the letter, the paper twisting in her hands. The tears welled up, and she did not wipe them away. She would never send this to her child. She would never let her child see these words.