i think it's a lot to expect our younger selves to have the perspective needed to see an adult's life from an adult's point of view. and as children we have the right to expect certain things from our parents. i don't think, personally, that I need to be anything other than a daughter to my mother. her job wasn't to be my friend- it was to be my parent. which is not to say i can't try to empathize with what she went through or understand that she had struggles I'll never understand. but i suppose it depends what kind of relationship you have with her, and if she is someone willing to meet you halfway, which isn't always the case.
i think it's a lot to expect our younger selves to have the perspective needed to see an adult's life from an adult's point of view. and as children we have the right to expect certain things from our parents. i don't think, personally, that I need to be anything other than a daughter to my mother. her job wasn't to be my friend- it was to be my parent. which is not to say i can't try to empathize with what she went through or understand that she had struggles I'll never understand. but i suppose it depends what kind of relationship you have with her, and if she is someone willing to meet you halfway, which isn't always the case.
Thank you for this, Randy. I, too, wish I’d been kinder, sooner. And of course, it’s too late.