Where your mother and mine clones, EJ? You just read the chapter on my childhood and teen years.

I rebelled and as much as I could, became me. "Me" never met with her approval... ever... at all. After she passed was when I found out who I really am and that I'm more than just a bit of OK!

My mother also lived with depression/anxiety. When I was a child, she always took me by the hand before crossing a street. She'd darn near rip my hand apart with her fingernails from sheer nerves on her part. She was always very impatient. Somehow I survived... both emotionally and physically.