the letter from my mother
This is the first letter I have received from my mother in the last three years. I'd written her three times. I haven't phoned in that time, except to call and ask if there was a family history of heart arrhythmia, because my doctor wanted to know. She has phoned me once, to tell me my aunt, her sister, had died; she called me about two weeks after the funeral.
I may repost this letter annotated with my thoughts later, but for now, I'm just posting her own words. She seems to think I post everything about her on Facebook, so I might as well not disappoint her. I'm not sure which of her friends who are also my friends on FB have shown her things I've written; I don't mind, am even glad of whatever posts my mother has seen, but if you're reading this and have shared my posts with her, I'd love you to Private Message me if you could give me any insight on her state of mind.
I will note that, in the letters to her, I told her I wouldn't share any details of her life she didn't want shared. However, she never shared any details, and I did not agree not to share my own memories of events I lived through.
I would also ask that anyone reading this post not resort to publicly calling her names or belittling her or otherwise opining that "What she thinks isn't important, anyway." You may mean it as a comforting-to-me gesture, but it's not going to comfort me. I welcome thoughtful responses, but not dismissive ones.
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[received October 5, 2015]
I don't know how to answer you. I am not going to argue with you.
Talking to you is like talking to a drunk
"Tell me all the bad thing you ever did. Tell me all the bad things that ever happened to you. So I can put them on the Internet for the whole world to read. I just want to "comfort" you. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me."
You seem to think it is terrible for me to talk to a family member about someone we are both concerned about. But you seem to think it is okay for you to tell everybody your version of something and then when somebody doesn't agree with you - you get mad.
So I won't talk to you about anybody in the family again.
I won't tell you anything about my life - good or bad.
I won't tell you anything about my friends. I don't even want you knowing who they are. Because we don't want to be the subject of one of your rants on FaceBook.
No, I don't talk about you to anyone - not even family. I don't tell anyone about your "craziness."
You do. If you don't want people to think you are crazy - then don't act like it. When you get on FaceBook or your Blog and rant and rave over and over and over, what do you think people are going to think of you?
It may surprise you to learn that I know a few people with your type of mental illness. They always hate the person who loves them most - usually their mother. They blame them for everything they think is wrong with their life.
You are like a little kid. "It's all your fault. Make me happy."
I wish I could give you happiness and peace. But I can't. You have to do that yourself.
And you can't be happy or at peace when you are so full of hate that all you want to do is hurt other people.
It's your choice.
[unsigned]
Originally posted at http://violetcheetah.dreamwidth.org/81051.html. Feel free to comment there
comments
I may repost this letter annotated with my thoughts later, but for now, I'm just posting her own words. She seems to think I post everything about her on Facebook, so I might as well not disappoint her. I'm not sure which of her friends who are also my friends on FB have shown her things I've written; I don't mind, am even glad of whatever posts my mother has seen, but if you're reading this and have shared my posts with her, I'd love you to Private Message me if you could give me any insight on her state of mind.
I will note that, in the letters to her, I told her I wouldn't share any details of her life she didn't want shared. However, she never shared any details, and I did not agree not to share my own memories of events I lived through.
I would also ask that anyone reading this post not resort to publicly calling her names or belittling her or otherwise opining that "What she thinks isn't important, anyway." You may mean it as a comforting-to-me gesture, but it's not going to comfort me. I welcome thoughtful responses, but not dismissive ones.
-----
[received October 5, 2015]
I don't know how to answer you. I am not going to argue with you.
Talking to you is like talking to a drunk
"Tell me all the bad thing you ever did. Tell me all the bad things that ever happened to you. So I can put them on the Internet for the whole world to read. I just want to "comfort" you. Tell me. Tell me. Tell me."
You seem to think it is terrible for me to talk to a family member about someone we are both concerned about. But you seem to think it is okay for you to tell everybody your version of something and then when somebody doesn't agree with you - you get mad.
So I won't talk to you about anybody in the family again.
I won't tell you anything about my life - good or bad.
I won't tell you anything about my friends. I don't even want you knowing who they are. Because we don't want to be the subject of one of your rants on FaceBook.
No, I don't talk about you to anyone - not even family. I don't tell anyone about your "craziness."
You do. If you don't want people to think you are crazy - then don't act like it. When you get on FaceBook or your Blog and rant and rave over and over and over, what do you think people are going to think of you?
It may surprise you to learn that I know a few people with your type of mental illness. They always hate the person who loves them most - usually their mother. They blame them for everything they think is wrong with their life.
You are like a little kid. "It's all your fault. Make me happy."
I wish I could give you happiness and peace. But I can't. You have to do that yourself.
And you can't be happy or at peace when you are so full of hate that all you want to do is hurt other people.
It's your choice.
[unsigned]
Originally posted at http://violetcheetah.dreamwidth.org/81051.html. Feel free to comment there
comments