We Love Each Other in Difficult Ways

Dear Delyara, Family has always been complicated for me because love was present, but ease rarely was. There was care, but also pressure. There was loyalty, but also control. There was concern, but often delivered in tones that made tenderness feel conditional. So now, as an adult, I often find myself both comforted and unsettled by family spaces. Drawn in and emotionally preparing at the same time. I don’t know if all families are like this underneath the surface. I only know mine taught me that love and tension can grow in the same soil.