I have an O.K. relationship with my mother but it's not easy. My mother has caused me more grief than anyone else on earth but I love her and try to deal with her the best I can. For all we endured growing up, my siblings and I all turned out to be hardworking, responsible adults but I honestly don't know how we kept our sanity at times.

The best relationship I have on earth is with my daughter and maybe that's due in large part to how difficult my mother has always been. All my adult life I've tried to tell myself that Mother is the way she is for some unknown reason - I guess her intentions have always been good but her personality and ideas about everything have made for some of the worst times of my life.