Thanks for sharing that essay of your mom, my own mom did a similar sort of thing, she never lapsed into shutting the door to me, even as it shortened her life as she burned the candle both ends sometimes and was also the breadwinner for the most part. My Dad where there, provided structure, but left the emotional care of the kids to the 'woman' like many of his generation, born in the 1920's. I saw my (decade older than me) 2 brothers become more involved in their kids lives to some extents, as the times had changed and they saw their roles as Dads in a different way, more a shared partnership than my folks had.
Jacquelyn, thank you so much for sharing this - it's incredible how much mothers and women in general are able to handle. I'm happy to hear that you also have a lot of gratitude for what your mom went through, and that my story resonated with you a bit. So much to learn from and be grateful for today, when we really think about it.
Thanks for sharing that essay of your mom, my own mom did a similar sort of thing, she never lapsed into shutting the door to me, even as it shortened her life as she burned the candle both ends sometimes and was also the breadwinner for the most part. My Dad where there, provided structure, but left the emotional care of the kids to the 'woman' like many of his generation, born in the 1920's. I saw my (decade older than me) 2 brothers become more involved in their kids lives to some extents, as the times had changed and they saw their roles as Dads in a different way, more a shared partnership than my folks had.
Jacquelyn, thank you so much for sharing this - it's incredible how much mothers and women in general are able to handle. I'm happy to hear that you also have a lot of gratitude for what your mom went through, and that my story resonated with you a bit. So much to learn from and be grateful for today, when we really think about it.
Allowing myself the time to truly know what I wanted allowed me to help others find what they wanted as well.