Hey Eagle,
Do you think as much damage can be done when the pain inflicted is covert? I'm talking about a mother that always talked about her children, to others, as if they walked on water, but then was always less than thrilled with them at home. I cannot remember my mother ever complimenting us without including a backdoor insult in the form of a question. "Your hair looks nice--did you brush the back of it?" "That's a cute dress--do you think it's too short?"
"Congratulations on that touchdown--do you think the score would have been higher if you had thrown the ball more?"
One thing my brothers and I have in common is that we all have to fight the tendency to think we're just never quite good enough, and by extension, that nothing or nobody else is quite good enough.
It's a pain to carry that pain!!! Your words have been so inspiring. Thank you so much for the posts.