As a little girl I always tried to force mom to be close to me, I'd sit in her lap, I remember laying on the couch with her. Remember the game kids play, you put the bottom of your feet on the other persons feet, and pretend your riding a bike? I always laid with her, even though she was in a bad state at the time. Looking back I didn't get what I wanted. I don't think I thought that way at the time, I did not realize that I wasn't getting what I wanted or that it was not possible. But as years went by and I grew up, I just know I did not trust women, or want to be close to women like the closeness shared by a mother and child.
I took care of my mom, behind closed doors. On the other side of the door she was a nurse, taking care of others. But when I had her, I was the nurse. That is how it felt to me. It was my job to make sure she didn't somehow die, and I was there to comfort her when she was crying. I'm not really blaming her for this, she was unhappy and did not have the tools to make it better for herself. She still doesn't have the tools. To be honest, she did cook, and clean. She did not take care of herself, though. She did not care what she really looked like, as far as her hair and clothing. She has never worn a stitch of make up. She used to care, I have the pictures to prove it, before she was married and shortly after. Cute clothes and make up were part of her daily routine.
I'm not sure what this does to a kid, having a mother that does not show affection. My old friends tell me I was quiet as a kid, never said much, but I was kind and always shared my lunch if someone did not have one. I did not get mad and mean until my teenage years. Mom did make my lunch, she was so worried about what others would think, at age 83 she is still worried about what others think! But I know how I feel now, about the years of my life spent longing for what I've never received...it has tried to take over my life and heart.
Its strange, because I have a relationship with my mom, now. But its not what it should be, we can never fix what is broken. I realize this now, but in all honesty it does not make it any easier. I still long to have what I cannot have. I know I'm repeating myself. But I want to give myself permission to grieve what I cannot have in this lifetime. And watching my sister so attached to mom makes it somehow harder. I see that she really cares for mom differently than I do. She received what I did not receive from this woman we call our mom. With hesitation I say I love you. Knowing that I do not have the same love for her as I do my husband or children. I do not love her as I should. I feel guilt about this, and I feel shame. I cannot make myself love her as I should. I have tried again and again. I want to, so badly. This years Mother's Day the pain in my heart was not as bad, so I think I may have achieved some relief, forgiven myself a little for not feeling how I should for mom.
But I know I will keep trying and trying, in hopes that something will ignite inside of me, and I will all of a sudden feel that click in my head and feel differently. It does not come, that click. I feel disappointed, I feel sad, and I lick my wounds and time passes by.
But I thought telling mom about my blog, and how I felt about a lot of what she has done over the past 50 years would make that click come. It did not. Instead it made her look more tired and old. In turn I felt guilty when I saw her on Mothers Day, after spending one week away from her house. I'm usually at her house every week, helping her with dad. She is slowing down, and seems worn out. Its sad that she has refused to attend counseling with me, I suggested it many times. I'm realizing she will never go, because that would mean allowing someone to know the truth of her life, the abuse and neglect, the awful life she has lived with a man she does not like. She talks to people she does not know and tells them lies about how her life is, paints a picture of the perfect family, perfect everything. It almost makes me sick, her deception. The truth cannot be exposed, and keeping that truth hidden is more important to mom than having a relationship with me, or my children, in this lifetime.
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