I don't believe in the "I just want my kids to be happy".
Life is complicated, hard and sometimes sadness/bad situations are unavoidable.
I try to give them the best tools that I know to deal with these issues as they crop up so they can emerge as unscathed as possible.
I couldn't agree with you more! Sometimes I think that part of the "root" of addiction is wanting to control how we feel (or "not feel") by self-medicating. It's okay to hurt. It's okay to express that hurt. We are human. Hurting is part of being human. If we didn't hurt or become sad or experience disappointment, we wouldn't be human. . . It's how we learn to deal, cope with, address, respond to, and overcome these experiences that are important, not that we have to experience them.
I try to give them the best tools that I know to deal with these issues as they crop up so they can emerge as unscathed as possible.
I also wish for them plenty of love, laughter and peace along the way.
Thank you Gowest! I'm going to try and work on this too!