That part (that they value themselves) is great honey...but it won't stop your daughters from ending up following the example you set about the man you married. I'm glad they have the self-esteem, but it takes more than that to stay away from possible mistakes by being with the wrong man. I am not saying your husband is the wrong man, I am just saying that he is currently and has been for many years, treating you in such a way that is causing you pain and strife....and your daughters particularly are learning that this is what marriage and love looks like.
I did the same damage to my own kids, too...my step-daughter is now well on her way to a sexless marriage, having gotten pregnant and then agreeing to marry him. She is basically following in my exact footsteps. They love each other, but they love the baby more and before they know it....oops...three months have gone by with no sex.
She and I have not directly discussed the problems I had with her father on the sexual front, so she doesn't even know she is following this pattern. All she knows is that I put the kids above everything else in my life, and she is now doing the same because "this is what good parents do". I cringe when I realize that she learned this from me, and yet, it took me 17 years, a divorce, and several years of depression and therapy to realize that was NOT the best way to parent! And yet, she holds me on a pedastal for all the great parenting I've shown her.
LOL!
Soooooo....this is just to warn you that no matter how well you've done, how much self-esteem you've imparted to them...they WILL and do follow in your footsteps and MAKE YOUR MISTAKES over in their own lives.
You can stop this now, and show them a different example, beginning now....I unfortunately have run out of time and cannot show them anything anymore....all I can do now is try to steer them a bit better when they hit the pitfalls that I did while they are making my same mistakes....
