room to heal

I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I just don’t. It hurts too much.

It hurts me, it hurts you, it hurts our community and most of all, it hurts the beautiful girl in the center of it all, Issy.

Issy deserves to be able to move on in as much peace as one can after such horror.

We have a lot to talk about. We have a lot to fix. We have misconceptions and half-truths and outright lies to set straight. We have lines to draw and points to make and, undoubtedly, battles to fight for what’s right.

But above all, we have a funny, bright, joyful, life-loving teenage girl who needs, and has the right to, the space to heal.

Because while there will always be a lot left to say to each other, there’s far more to tell Issy.

That she’s going to be okay.

That she was never, ever, not for a fraction of a second, to blame for what her mother did that awful day.

That her dad is there for her.

That he adores her.

That her family loves her fiercely, tenderly, completely.

That we, out here in the ether, each in our own way, love her too.

That she is lovable – Love … ABLE.

Able to be loved and to love in return.

That she is safe.

That she is entitled to her privacy.

And dignity.

And that she will always, always be in our hearts and our prayers.

We can talk to and at and around each other all that we need to.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t.

Indeed we MUST.

But it’s long past time to give Issy her privacy back.

I send my love.

To Issy.

To all.

 

{Image is a photo of two hands holding a red tissue paper heart in the sunlight.}

(This post can also be found on the A Diary of a Mom blog here.)