My Mom Abandoned Me When I Was 9 — 20 Years Later,

Twenty years after my mother, Melissa, abandoned me at nine, she appeared at my door, homeless, with a grocery bag, demanding help. I let her stay, hoping to break the cycle of pain, despite her absence leaving me in foster care. She seemed grateful at first, but soon criticized my childhood, blaming me for her struggles. The

breaking point came when she told my two-year-old daughter, Emma, I was a difficult child who screamed for no reason, implying family could be abandoned. Furious, I packed her things in a garbage bag, mirroring how she sent me away, and directed her to a shelter. Last month, I sent her a blank birthday card with her own words: “Sometimes you have to step back from people who hurt you.” I’ve learned parenting is about giving, not taking. I protect Emma from harm, even from family, ending the cycle of pain.