I can finally see some of what they gave me

Dear Delyara, For a long time I only knew how to measure my parents through what was missing. That made sense. There were things missing. But lately I’ve also been able to notice what was there, and that has changed the emotional tone of my memories in a way I didn’t expect. The quiet sacrifices. The practical care. The worrying that disguised itself badly. The details they remembered. The forms of devotion that did not sound like tenderness, but were tenderness in another language. This does not erase what hurt. It just widens the frame. And I think wider truth has made room for a softer gratitude in me.