This is going to be long and personal and about sexual assault. Took my daughter to an art thing at a local university tonight. (These images are a google search from kansas university, but many are ones i saw tonight). #whatwereyouwearing
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We had some good conversations. We are both survivors of the same fucking asshole. My ex husband/her bio dad. We even wrote a little bit in the "share your story" book at the end.
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I am pretty much at peace with my rape (age 20, shortly after my daughter was born, i was severely depressed, had new health issues that caused excruciating pain and i just wanted the pain - all of it - to stop. I downed a full bottle of pain meds and carried me to the bed, raped me, then took me to the ER to deal with the overdose).
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But i still hurt so much thinning about how he hurt my baby. She was 3 when she told me. She didn't like it, but she didn't know it was wrong or else she said she would have told me sooner. If you ever wonder what age is too young to talk to kids about that stuff... keep this in mind. My baby was 3. At the time, the thought hadn't crossed my mind to talk to her about it. Not until it was too late. (Btw... bio dad has no rights and she had not seen him in about 7 years. My husband and i started dating when she was 1 yr old. He adopted her many years ago)
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It is never too early to talk to your kids. And its never too late to tell your story. I never reported my own rape. In retrospect, i wish i had... but i am at peace with it. .a great book i highly recommend for kids is "sex is a funny word". It teaches about bodies and consent and is one of the best we have found for beginning those convos
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#rape #sexualassault #sexualabuse
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We had some good conversations. We are both survivors of the same fucking asshole. My ex husband/her bio dad. We even wrote a little bit in the "share your story" book at the end.
.
I am pretty much at peace with my rape (age 20, shortly after my daughter was born, i was severely depressed, had new health issues that caused excruciating pain and i just wanted the pain - all of it - to stop. I downed a full bottle of pain meds and carried me to the bed, raped me, then took me to the ER to deal with the overdose).
.
But i still hurt so much thinning about how he hurt my baby. She was 3 when she told me. She didn't like it, but she didn't know it was wrong or else she said she would have told me sooner. If you ever wonder what age is too young to talk to kids about that stuff... keep this in mind. My baby was 3. At the time, the thought hadn't crossed my mind to talk to her about it. Not until it was too late. (Btw... bio dad has no rights and she had not seen him in about 7 years. My husband and i started dating when she was 1 yr old. He adopted her many years ago)
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It is never too early to talk to your kids. And its never too late to tell your story. I never reported my own rape. In retrospect, i wish i had... but i am at peace with it. .a great book i highly recommend for kids is "sex is a funny word". It teaches about bodies and consent and is one of the best we have found for beginning those convos
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#rape #sexualassault #sexualabuse
I’m so sorry that this happened. Thank you for sharing. Much love ❤️
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Thank you for sharing! #metoo 😞
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![CW: suicide
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Went to a birthday/memorial butterfly release at the park yesterday. My daughter's friend would have just turned 16. It's been 3.5 months since they took their life. Saw another young person pull this out of their backpack to place at the base of a tree. It's hard being an adult struggling with my mental health and suicide thoughts. But fucking kids. These are deep, complex feelings for young people to process. I have to remind myself that whenever I feel that dark, it always passes. It may be a short while or a long time, but it passes. So for anybody looking for a sign, #ThisIsIt.
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[Image description: a rock sitting at the bottom of a tree. It is painted yellow and says "If you are looking for a sign to stay alive, this is it. Stay alive. Keep going." with sun, heart, and butterfly doodles around it]
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#suicide #suicidal #suicideawareness #suicideprevention #mentalhealth #mentalillness #depression #anxiety #parenting #parentingteens #parentingwithdepression #parentingwithmentalillness #heresyoursign #stayalive](https://scontent-vie1-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/67729507_2344841335570446_2077671495074817100_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6IkNBUk9VU0VMX0lURU0uaW1hZ2VfdXJsZ2VuLjEwODB4MTA4MC5zZHIuZjI4ODUuZGVmYXVsdF9pbWFnZS5jMiJ9&_nc_ht=scontent-vie1-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=106&_nc_oc=Q6cZ2QE1sc5kwdRwrg0hvmEGyY6nc_34JQ5hMBgEh90kRDxWbykqs0dHdmec36C-oPEBiMfAX7jFukCqfNT19hwDSXpW&_nc_ohc=dLqfJgc_BCEQ7kNvwGbyarr&_nc_gid=4KdyF18ButH9c1fY4WCOxA&edm=APs17CUBAAAA&ccb=7-5&ig_cache_key=MjEyMzU3Mjg4MzI3MDg4NjgxOA%3D%3D.3-ccb7-5&oh=00_AfmO7nNJzDRpXBlxtgldv-U8wmXZOyu02xzvi25-ZhMxOg&oe=6936544F&_nc_sid=10d13b)