I have a pretty complicated relationship with my mom (who is currently sitting on the couch across from me which makes typing this pretty weird hahaha). She is a great parent in that she taught me to read proficiently at a very early age, never was late picking me up from school, never drank heavily around me, etc.

But I was a really troubled youngster (I had ADHD and intermittent explosive disorder, constantly got in trouble at school) and I think this put a huge strain on our relationship and put her through a lot of stress and frustration.

She has a lot of trouble relating to me and we rarely have "actual" conversations about needs, wants, life goals, advice etc. and all of that sort of stuff.

We get along much better now -- it used to be that we couldn't be in the same room without completely going ballistic on each other. Was / is she emotionally distant? Yeah absolutely, but that's part of the dynamic that we share.