by SEAN POWER
Walking home from work last night, something inside me clicked. After spending six years trying to find ways to avoid speaking to my parents, all I wanted to do was get on the phone and talk to them.
It was almost like I thought of them as…. mates.
How things change.
Back when I was sixteen, I’m pretty sure I was convinced that my mum was a monster sent from outer space to make my life a living hell. I swear I once saw horns. My dad wasn’t much better.
I remember leaving a dictionary on the kitchen table, with a note encouraging my parents to learn some new words. I was sick of hearing “where, when, who and why”. I even highlighted the page on which “yes” was mentioned on.
What a bloody brat hey?
I also made a pretty unfavorable comparison between my Mum’s constant nagging and a plastic bag suffocating me once. Classy.
Her response? Remove my bedroom door from its hinges and hide the screws in the backyard.
My response? To set up the swag and sleep the night outside in the carport during Melbourne winter.
Game, set and match.
I would sneak in, sneak out and keep my door shut so that I didn’t have to enter into a detailed conversation about boring things like homework, healthy eating and exercise. Go away, I’d scream.
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Top Comments
I'm 27 years old, I never got on with my father.
He died in October 2010 from a short illness, and at the time of his passing, I was disowned from my father.
Take each side of the story, but I do blame our separation on my actions and what he did.
He was a heavy drinker, he had his moments, he was abusive towards my mother and walked out on her for another woman.
However myself, I had my demons, I was a drug addict, I was in trouble with the law and was in a hopeless situation, where my mum was at her wits end to try and help me.
One thing I regret about things is never apologising to my Dad for what I did.
Not being able take him out for a beer and being the daughter he would of expected me to be.
It was shortly after he died, I came out I was Bisexual and that moving to interstate to get rehab, was the best option I could do at the time.
2 years later, I'm now clean, have a steady job, a beautiful partner and fantastic friends who have helped me stay clean.
My mum is the best person I could have now. We speak on a daily basis, and when she did visit recently, she apologised for being too hard on us.
I'm one of 5 kids & I know in her own way what she meant. Although I had my demons in the past, she taught me right from wrong and that I needed to help myself in order to get help.
And sometimes living 1000kms away is harder than is to be - I miss dad, but in a way, I have a life to live and am happy for what corners and what has been given.
My parents did their best, and that's all one could hope for.
I love this. I had a fairly good relationship with my parents but it was very "I am the parent/you are the child and this is my house". I thought that was fair enough, but it often led to a clash of personalities. I was (and am) headstrong and fiercely independent, a quality I inherited from my mother. Naturally this does not always create a harmoneous household. After I moved out at 20, my relationship has greatly improved - I speak to them every day. My decisions became ones I could make on my own terms rather then ones that were questioned or I had to consider my parents values as being more relevant than my own. I love my relationship with my parents and my sister now that there is a "living space" difference.