Childhood Trauma

 My sister’s family recently adopted a kitten named Birdie.

Birdie was rescued and socialized when she was very young.

She is pretty and playful and happy and makes cute little bird-like sounds.

She is the softest animal I have ever touched, and

She is incredibly sweet.

She flops over in your arms and lets you hold her like a baby.

The other day, my sister was holding her and

Birdie reached up and gently touched the side of Dana’s face with her little paw—

No claws out.

 

My family adopted Annie a little over a year ago.

Annie lived a life on the streets for the first year of her life.

She had an unwanted teenage pregnancy and

Brought herself and her four kittens to our house for rescue.

While her kittens now have other homes,

Annie made her home with us.

She is pretty and soft and fat and happy, but

She isn’t what I would call sweet.

She’s feisty and expresses her opinions by way of her claws.

She is skittish and carries with her a strong survival instinct.

I am hesitant to hold her lest she decide to whack me,

But I will pick her up and put her in bed with me where she will gladly sleep for the night.

 

Birdie and Annie were both abandoned kittens.

Birdie’s calm temperament was fostered by a quick human rescue.

Annie’s spicy temperament was exacerbated by having to survive on her own

(Not to mention that she’s a tortie).

 

In short, what happened to Birdie and Annie as babies,

When things were completely out of their control,

Influenced the rest of their lives.

 

Childhood trauma (and trauma in general) is a very real thing.

Even when one doesn’t remember the trauma,

Trauma lives in the body and can come out when one least expects it.

A sight, a sound, a taste, or a touch

Can trigger a reaction in someone that seems like a gross overreaction,

Leaving the observer dumbfounded.

We see it all the time.

We just might not know what’s happening.

 

So may we be a people aware of the reality of trauma

And may we work to create positive, healing experiences for those around us.

We may not always know when someone has been triggered,

But we can always respond to that which we don’t understand

With grace.  

 

I know I show Annie a whole lot of grace.