Motherhood is a trip . . . are we there yet?
I’m four days away from my foot surgery, and I feel very small. My husband and, surprisingly, my mother-in-law are fussing over what I’ll need, but my flesh and blood relatives don’t seem very interested. I really don’t want much. I hate having people around me when I’m recovering from something, in fact, but it…
I have so many thoughts swimming in my head. Some have to do with my children, but most don’t, though they’re always a factor in my anxiety. In a stream of consciousness: First: My husband had a big meltdown this morning. He’s overwhelmed with pressure and disappointment, and I don’t blame him one bit. He…
A few weeks ago, I sent my formerly troubled teen turned estranged adult daughter a text to let her know her yoga membership that I’d been paying for would expire at the end of the month. After being ignored about everything else, it was just a one liner stating the facts. There was no emotion…
I’ve tried to reach out politely to get a read on where my younger daughter is in her life and relative to me. I’ve gotten absolutely nothing, not a single syllable, not even a fuck you, so I guess I’m out. I guess this is my life now. I’m terribly sad and disappointed, still confused…
Originally publised: April 13, 2022 after Part 1 of the same title. We gathered her into the car and drove around until we found a simple restaurant so we could talk and bring her back to safety. It was so awful to see my beautiful, hard-working daughter, who’d been through so much look like she’d…
Where am I today? In some ways, I’m in a very good place with my relationship with each daughter. My older daughter and I have gotten back to our close bond and even took a trip together recently. It was the first time I’d seen her since Mothers Day weekend, eight months ago. We used…
You’ve gotta be kidding me. I thought I was on an upswing with my older daughter after a few agonizing months of silence. Starting with my birthday a few weeks ago, we’d been texting back and forth, and it was, if nothing else, pleasant. It seemed we were on the mend from the setup in…
I’ve always loved going to counseling, but in the past few years I haven’t had any luck connecting. I also just had general issues that I couldn’t exactly identify. I wasn’t clinically depressed or anxious, I wasn’t grieving, my marriage wasn’t on the rocks, and I wasn’t facing a health or substance abuse crisis. I…
As I’ve written before, I’ve joined a Facebook group for estranged parents. There are a LOT of members, mostly mothers, and this is only one group of many to join. I took a look at the members list, and while there were a number of local people who were friends of friends, I didn’t know…
It’s now been four and a half months since my younger daughter has spoken a single word to me, and other than a weird phone call, three months for my older daughter. I’ve joined some Facebook groups for people experiencing estrangement and, while it provides some comfort knowing that I’m not alone, my membership doesn’t…