Ending the Cycle

Last night, my brother Joe and I were discussing how glad we are that our mom raised us with such high standards. Sure, there were times when we thought that the month long restrictions were a bit much. But now that we both have kids, we can't imagine raising them without the values and morals that our mom taught us. Joe was saying that he was grateful to mom...becasue of her our children would never have to know heartache and pain like we did. We talked about how it is our absolute duty to God and to our children to break the cycle that is so entrenched in our birth family.Looking at Alyssa (Joe's beautiful baby girl) and CJ (my adorable son), I can't help but get a little emotional, knowing that they will have the roots that we never had as tiny, helpless kids. They will never long for love and attention because they will never lack it. And that's how it should be. Joe and I made a conscious decision to end the generations of pain and dysfunction with us. That will not be our legacy and it sure won't be our children's. And for that, we are both grateful to our mother.