Being a parent plunges you into a sort of unrequited love, writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the wrong
My only son is very successful. He owns five properties, is self-employed, and due to inherit from a family member soon. He buys top-brand watches and cars. But l feel he is quite miserable towards me, his hard-working mum. I’ve never had big bunch flowers from him or wee present off the cuff. Am l wrong? It upsets me to not be appreciated.
I heard a story not too long ago about a father talking to his daughter. She was on the edge of the decision about whether she would have children and he was talking to her about what he’d learned when he became a dad. He told her that if he had his time again he wasn’t sure he’d have children. He wasn’t being unkind; it wasn’t because he didn’t adore her. It was because he hadn’t understood the way that being a parent plunges you permanently into unrequited love. Your whole life and heart become structured around someone who won’t return your calls; you would take a bullet for someone who forgets your birthday.
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