When I was younger, my mom always told me “date someone like your father, he’s a kind, loving man who puts his family above all else”

Then the abuse started

“Now you know what kind of man to avoid” she would tell me.

When I was 16, I got into a relationship that would change me and my outlook on life.
It was all butterflies and rainbows until I upset him for the first time.
He had a familiar fire in his eyes that I’ve only seen in one other man

My father.

But I remembered what my mother told me “... kind, loving man who puts his family above all else” and that’s what this guy did.

When he wasn’t angry.
When he wasn’t yelling at me.
When he wasn’t punching walls.
When he wasn’t hitting me.
When he wasn’t demeaning me.

I dated someone like my father and I now know the difference from what Love is and what my parents showed me love was