You know, Purple, I think we're a lot the same. Because I did exaclty the same as you. I thought I needed to get married to leave, because my dad broke me down to think I couldn't do it on my own. I didn't even go to university out of state like I always dreamed. I gave up before I even tried, didn' even take the SAT. And even now, he's the same negative, "you're going to fail" person in my life.... Yup. I tend to project his attitude onto others, too.

But, just because you're son is moving out and you never had money for things doesn't mean it's too late. Too late is when you're in the ground. Too late is me and my mom, but I still lived her dream even though she wasn't there. She wanted to take me to Italy when I graduated high school. Well, she died before that. But, when I was 18, the summer after high school, I went to Italy. And she was everywhere. I saw all the pictures she had shown me, but for real. And I kep thinking, "Mom was standing right here."

So, not too late.

Just because you're son is grown and out doesn't mean you won't continue to do things. My mom and my aunts and uncle were always taking my grandma places. We took her to South Dakota with us. My aunt took her Hawaii. My uncle took her to Italy. So, don't give up on that.