it is so hard to want just a little approval from parents who can't seem to give it.

I'm 31 now and I know that my parents 'love' me. but I also know they don't approve of pretty much anything about me. I got married too young, I didn't go to college, I had too many kids too close together, I homeschool instead of sending my kids to public school, I don't discipline the way they did, my appearance is weird at best, I don't keep my house clean enough, I don't visit often enough (don't have a vehicle that will hold us all), I don't manage money as well as I should, and (worst of all) I bring up things from the past that ought to be left alone.

I've given up on trying to gain their approval. but that doesn't mean I can stop myself from wishing I could have it.