My point is parents are always way too tense about everything. I'm 49 and I can still tell when something I do or say frustrates or disappoints them without them saying a single word. Or you get certain looks (or absent looks) which makes things uncomfortable. I don't tell them how to live their lives or what to say. I expect the same. And they are not realists the way I am. Everything they say is sugar-coated (which gets under my skin) and they refuse to talk about truth. In recent years my manic-depression (for one reason or another) has caused me to stay away from family members. It's never been a functioning relationship due mainly to my mood disorder. It's just all odd to me.