Hi goldneon7,
Yep, I can relate. It took me a LONG time to learn how to be good to myself. I was great at being good to other people...supermom, great friend, loving wife...but I was lacking in the self-love department. And I wasn't real good at letting other people care for me either.
I think self-love is a learning curve for those of us who grew up as children of alcoholics. I was fortunate enough to have a very loving father and a very loving sister. They gave me the foundations I needed that my mother wasn't capable of. But there was and still is that empty mother/daughter thing in my life. So nowadays, when I'm feeling like a motherless child, I try to mother myself. I still haven't gotten it all down yet, but I'm a lot better than I used to be.
Peace,
Gabe