Author Topic: Mother's Day GUILT  (Read 2611 times)

Meh

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Mother's Day GUILT
« on: May 06, 2011, 01:17:55 AM »
I was hoping yesterday was mother's day so I could say Gee shucks I forgot. Now that I have looked up the date I see that its still on the way. I still (after all this writing & reading here) feel a pang of guilt for not doing anything (((nice))) uggghh....for my --mother--.

« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 01:34:37 AM by Boat that Rocks »

Izzy_*now*

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2011, 04:20:27 AM »
Me again BTR

Mother's Day, May 8 th---I don't expect a card from my daughter
Granddaughter's 22 nd birhday, May 12--I am not sending a card
Daughter's  47th birthday, May 13--I am not sending a card
Grandson's 19th birthday, June 13--I am not sending a card.

Emails to them a couple of months back (the kids) resulted in no reply-----asked if this was still the right address---- and maybe it's wrong---- but if it is, I wasn't told.

My past birthday, April 28th--I received an e-card from Daughter and gang! I thought, "How nice" and left it online.

One tidbit of contact after about 7 months from my last email will not make me jump for joy and think that a B. Card is her trying to re-establish a relationship. I'm built for it now! I can take it! I am a survivor! I think of them, always will, but can do it with dignity and a touch of tender thoughts for them, about the terrible world in which they are growing up, while hoping they "make it through"!

 :D  
Izzy
« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 04:22:31 AM by Izzy_*now* »
"The joy of love lasts such a short time, but the pain of love lasts one's whole life"

Hopalong

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2011, 06:37:58 AM »
((((((((((((Izzy))))))))))))))

There aren't enough words for a mother's pain sometimes.

love to you,

Hops
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sKePTiKal

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2011, 07:32:49 AM »
Boat - I wondered when this topic would come up.

This year, I've decided for the first time ever - to not send a card. I've discovered via SIL, that mom has been "playing me like a poker chip" - told me lies about her situation living with bro & SIL to manipulate me, again - and I just don't feel motivated at all to mark the day with her. I might instead drive over to see if the bulbs we planted for MIL, when her ashes were buried, came up this year.

I haven't gotten birthday cards from mom in years; nor christmas gifts. Last year, she called me on my birthday - and without ever mentioning that it was my birthday - proceeded to start up the same old monologue about herself. MIL was just a couple days from her stroke and just shook her head, when I told her... and she gave me most wonderful message in my birthday card; it brought tears to my eyes.

That was kind of like a sign; an omen - that it's OK; I have permission now - to stop trying to keep up the appearance of a relationship where none exists. Her idea of the relationship is always me doing for her; there is absolutely nothing she offers me -- except her old hoarded junk, which I believe symbolizes parts of herself that she's tried to project on me for years.

Look at it this way: if you DON'T send her a card or gift, what will she do? Stop talking to you and leave you alone? Is that really such a bad thing? So instead - make the card about YOU... if it makes you feel better to send a card; do...
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SilverLining

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2011, 12:32:00 PM »
These made up holidays have always made me nauseous.  I think with families like ours, it's sort of the reverse of the old joke.  Why is there a Mothers day, a Fathers day, but no childrens day?  Because every day is childrens day.   In our situation, every day is N parents day, so why are we obligated to give them even MORE attention on a particular day?  

My mother expects attention on Mothers Day.  Two weeks later is her birthday so she expects more attention.  A couple of months from now is my birthday, which of course requires more attention to her.  She'll call me on my birthday and not ask a single question, just launching into the usual recitations of her latest crises and dramas.  

At least I've come to recognize the pattern.  I used to go through this process not really realizing why I felt so drained and depressed everytime I had any contact with the FOO.  I still play along with the Mothers day thing, while trying to gradually condition them to less and less attention.  This year I sent a little token gift, but no card or artificial sentiment.  
« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 01:55:58 PM by SilverLining »

Meh

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2011, 12:47:51 PM »
In our situation, every day is N parents day,

 :lol:       :(           :x


« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 12:51:20 PM by Boat that Rocks »

Gaining Strength

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2011, 06:58:05 PM »
I hate mother's day.

I received and e-mail from my mother (which I haven't opened) that said something to the effect that she and my son invited me for a mother's day dinner at her house.  At first when I saw the email I was confused because she and I have the same name (so surprise I figured out I was her alter/shadow ego at a young age - she named me after herself so she could take out all of her self leathing on ME) and it looked as though my son and I were doing the inviting.

Anyway - I suspect this will be just like my "birthday" dinner.  My child and I went to her house as we do for most Sundays to eat pizza and watch TV (we don't have tv at home) and I ordered pizza and paid for it as usual.  Why she called is a brithday dinner I still have no idea.  It was exactly the same as every other Sunday.  I order pizza and either pick it up or have it delivered and I pay for it.  Happy Birthday to me.

Silver Lining - thank you for helping assuage some of my guilt by reminding me that every day is N parents day.  I do wonder what in the world it would be like to actually feel love for a parent and look forward to being with one.

SilverLining

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2011, 06:51:15 PM »
Silver Lining - thank you for helping assuage some of my guilt by reminding me that every day is N parents day.  I do wonder what in the world it would be like to actually feel love for a parent and look forward to being with one.

Hi GS.   It helps me to know I'm not the only one who hates these holidays.  Before I started really thinking this stuff through, I felt alone and guilty for my dislike of this stuff.  But the truth is,  every day (or at least many many days) are N parent days in my FOO. 

And the incredible amount of media hype doesn't help.   IMO a lot of this is driven by business and corporate greed.   They want a couple of extra spending holidays between Easter and July 4th. 

Meh

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2011, 01:25:06 AM »
I forgot that I started this post, was thinking about M-Day guilt, got onto the internet and low and behold I SAW GOOGLE ICON that is dedicated to MOTHER'S DAY.

Of course some people have good relationships with their mother's, the difficult thing is that culturally it's almost taboo to not respect the mother.

We don't even really respect Mother Earth who gives us everything. BUT we must think about butterflies and purple flowers on Mother's Day.

For me personally, my psychological hardship with bearing the burden that is called Mother's Day, is related to how much my mother does not acknowledge, her level of denial for years and years has been hell on my psyche.

On Mother's Day I am suppose to pretend like all the unkind things she has done never occurred.

I feel that it creates a psychological stress for me to go-along with that. I would be lying to myself in a very unkind way to myself.

To celebrate mother's day minus the mother part I found the best, I mean THE very best chocolate cupcake I have ever had in my entire life. I thought about taking my mother there. I don't know why...Wait yes I do.

I KNOW. It's because I continue to FANTASIZE about what it will be like when we both go to this nice place and sit down and share a nice MOMENT with each other, and we are talking to each other and we are both there enjoying each other's company, at least partially.

I have fantasies about spending time with my mother and it never turned out like that. It's a habit in my mind of what it projects into the future. My mind projects some positive event that never happens but for some reason my mind spontaneously does this because maybe I still need to believe that somebody loves me and would spend time with me. Even when my mother is with me, she isn't there, she is absent. She doesn't want to be there, that is clear enough as day, her psyche does not want to be there and floats away to someplace else...so I should leave her there in that somewhere else land where she has decided to dwell.

sKePTiKal

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2011, 08:22:24 AM »
Hmmm.

I think your fantasy about having a wonderful nice moment is exactly the kind of things that "good moms" actually follow through with and do. Maybe you're the good mom? I don't do this often enough with my Ds - just hang out and enjoy - because I'm still figuring out how to be a "good mom" for myself... and that's a real challenge!! (excuses... excuses... I know.)

The fact that the reality is always so different from what you hope for and what the point of the holiday is... approaches what's known as "cognitive dissonance" - the two are so different one's brain simply can't explain why, or resolve how it's possible.

I bought myself lysianthis and hydrangeas for mother's day and will spend the day, keeping an eye on my 18 yr old mommy kitty who is fading out of this life, for greener pastures and chasing & eating lots of mousies.
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Meh

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2011, 01:49:54 AM »
PR, No that's not it exactly.

Its not that I make up the fantasy willingly or that the fantasy part is so important to me, my mind starts making it up before I even realize it. And when I was having that best cupcake ever invented on the face of this planet in this solar system, I came to notice a thought habit in a way I had never realized before. It was the new noticing of the thought habit that struck me as important to me.

And it's related to the disappointment I invariably feel after I see my mother.

WOW. That was a weird cupcake indeed.

Was all preceded by a dizziness and then a cupcake induced bulging glazed eye feeling....never mind.
« Last Edit: May 09, 2011, 01:53:48 AM by Boat that Rocks »

sKePTiKal

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2011, 07:10:59 AM »
Ok... my idea was just another hypothetical, anyway.

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Meh

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2011, 01:40:33 PM »
When a person goes to a party or meets up with a friend or on a date or to Thanksgiving, don't most people envision ahead of time what its going to be like? Like preparing a pic-nic basket for later at the park. I do, I envision it being fun or not fun. I envision how much I will like the food or not like the food, and if it will be nice weather and where the big tree is to sit under and where is the blanket to bring and who is going to sit on the blanket with me.

But maybe not so much envisioning for going to the carwash, or dropping of a piece of mail.

Or maybe the mind does picture everything.

If I go to the post office maybe all I envision before I go is what block it's on and what the building looks like and how much I have to pay to buy a enough stamps. Those visionings happen automatically without me even thinking about it.

When I was having the cupcake I was thinking, oh wouldn't this be a nice place to bring my mother to celebrate mother's day or her birthday, two things that happen close to each other for her.

Because it was something I liked and thought was extraordinary I wanted to share the experience.

So now that I know I am having these envisionings of her and I together eating food and enjoying it and each other's company...I have learned something new about how my mind works.




Meh

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Re: Mother's Day GUILT
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2011, 03:34:12 PM »
I did nothing for my mother on mother's day, didn't call her zip zero nadda.

Now, her Birthday is impending....and I have one right handed mitten that I have knitted and am contemplating knitting the left one to give to her to APPEASE her.

I hate the model of our relationship, it's a stingy, manipulative, obligatory one. Maybe it's just politics to be slightly diplomatic.

Maybe it's mature to use diplomacy as long as I'm aware that there is an appeasement component to what I am doing even if that is not 100% of the motivation...I mean even tribes trade with other tribes where there are social tensions.

So maybe I just trade her the stupid gift that she wants this one more time as a diplomatic gesture. I'm definitely not giving her the color she wants.  :)