Quote:
Originally Posted by BethRags
Well, he is really young, still in teen mode. His estrangement will, hopefully, be transitory. My daughter is 36 and estranged herself from me 2 years ago. She excels in academia, but imo her emotional maturity lags.
Regardless of age and reasons, estrangement is viciously painful. I really have to work HARD to harden my heart. I feel like it's either that or go crazy and die too young from a broken heart. I constantly remind myself that it is my daughter's unresolved mental health issues that have caused her to behave toward me like she does. I do write letters to her every 6 weeks or so, but never condemning or critical. I remind myself that I am her mother, not her friend, and I respect my daughter by respecting myself, and respecting my role as her mother. We were so close prior to her dropping herself out of my life...I expect that she will come around eventually.
I am using this time to develop a closer relationship with my other child, my son. That's the silver lining to the darkest cloud.
How is your relationship with your daughter?
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Thank you for sharing your own experience. I’m so sorry you are going through this. It is so hard. I hope your daughter sees how much she is hurting you and comes back into your life. It’s wonderful that you are close with your son. I have a good relationship with my daughter. We don’t connect as often as I would like, but she is busy with friends and a summer job. She starts her first teaching job next month, 5th grade ELA (English/Language Arts). I’m so proud. Thank you again.