I'm the Teacher Who Cared
I wrote this as a reply to a support group I am in, replying to someone who envied those who had not been traumatized in their childhood: " For a long time in my life, I also envied those who did not have to go through trauma in their childhoods. My childhood was fraught with abuse that caused me trauma. But then I was an elementary teacher, and observed and experienced lots of kids and how they interacted with their parents, over the 30 years that I taught. Some parents were great with their kids, most were just all right with their kids, and then there were the remainder who abused their kids. I remember the song by Helen Reddy, "I am Woman", and there is a line she sings: "Yes, I am wise, but it's wisdom borne of pain. Yes, I've paid the price, but look at what I gained." So on an emotional level, I regret the trauma I underwent in my abused childhood. On a spiritual level, I am grateful that I overcame so much of the burden of my abuse, and taught m...