from destruction may come construction

I want to make it clear that the story told below was just that really, a story. Ok yes that was my life, yes those events did happen, and yes it was a way to purge pains of the past. But it has been over-simplified, condensed. There were many pains, but there was much happiness too. When you read it back as the authoress, you realise how much more there is to say, the detail not shown, the love that was given...yet so often the bad stays with us long after the effect of the good fades away. And the most important point i want to make clear is that all parties involved had a single motivation, me and my brother.

I want to also stipulate that while as an adult i value generosity of heart and mind over any monetary value, I have also had the opportunity to experience a life beyond many's wildest dreams, and this was not done with spite, but with love and to give us opportunites that they themselves never had. There have been times i have resented greatly the bond between me and my grandparents, with this life there came conditions, a code of behaviour, a code of dress, a code of expectations that stay with us today. Sometimes i played along, sometimes i rebelled. Sometimes the overwhelming feeling that love should be unconditional was poignant. with my grandfather for the main, this is true. i am his princess, the most important person in his life above all others and we have a bond that is so precious and rare and undefinable. Many have criticised it, many judge, some do not make the effort to understand. But for those that have witnessed it at close hand, they learn to respect it and maybe realise how special this is, and how it has shaped who i am today.