for families who still find a way to love

As I was watching "The Glass Castle", I found myself remembering Daddy and how close he and I had been.
I may not have been his 'mountain goat', but I knew he loved me.
Even when the alcohol and the gambling began to harm our family, I knew he loved me.
I also knew that the best decision my mother made was to divorce him before his ways did irreparable damage to us children.
i thank God that Mama was such a strong woman.

As the movie got into the last thirty minutes, it wasn't my father who came to mind.
No, Jeannette's dad reminded me only too well of my middle brother, Ronnie.
His abuse of alcohol, and other drugs, would have done irreparable damage to his children, if my outlaw Melinda had not divorced him.
Jeannette's mom refused to leave her husband.
The couple were twisted together such that she could not envision herself without him.
i thank God that Melinda was then, and still is, such a strong woman.

Perhaps Mama and Melinda drew much of their strength from their own mothers.
I do know both had loving, supportive female role models in their lives.
So many are not blessed with that good fortune.
Certainly, Jeannette's mom was not.
i thank You, God, for such blessings in my life.