Dear Mom and Dad,
We are writing to you not as people trying to correct you, but as hearts trying to be understood. We have grown in your home, under your care, through your sacrifices, your discipline, your provision, and your efforts. We do not take that lightly. We see more than you think we see. We remember more than you think we remember. And we feel more than we often know how to say.
There are things we have carried silently for years, not because we do not love you, but because we sometimes did not know how to speak without fear of being misunderstood. There were moments we wanted to explain ourselves but lacked the words. Moments we needed comfort but received correction. Moments we needed listening but experienced interruption. And over time, some of those moments built quiet distance inside us.
We are not writing to accuse you. We are writing to open a door.
A door to understanding.
A door to healing.
A door to conversations that may have been delayed, but are still possible.
We want you to know that we are not your enemies. We are your children. We are growing, learning, and trying to become whole in a complex world. Sometimes we struggle. Sometimes we misunderstand you too. Sometimes we react in ways that are not fully mature. But beneath it all, we still desire connection with you.
We still want to be seen by you.
We still want to be heard by you.
We still want to feel safe with you.
What we are asking for is not perfection. It is presence. Not control, but understanding. Not just instruction, but conversation.
We are not the same children we were years ago. And you are not the same parents either. Life has shaped us all. But there is still something that can be built between us, something stronger, deeper, and more honest than what has existed before.
If you are willing, we are too.
Not to erase the past, but to understand it.
Not to deny the pain, but to learn from it.
Not to fight each other, but to grow together.
We believe healing is still possible between us. And we hope this book becomes a bridge between us as parents and children who still belong to each other.
With love,
Your Children
