Letter to my mother... (*Triggers*)

[Twinkletoes]

I read a quote this morning, it said "Narcissist spelt backwards is *... well, if they can make things up, then so can we!" and I laughed, a lot.  I am angry at the moment and feeling a lot of things that I haven't previously felt.

It has taken me 2 whole years to write this letter.  I never imagined being able to or even wanting to say these things to you – not consciously anyway, but now I am ready and I am no longer holding back on anything. I never plan to send it, but I really want to get it down on paper.

Growing up you always made it crystal clear that I was a chore to you. I was an annoyance. I was in the way and a nuisance.  You never hid that from me, I imagine you never tried.  From a very young age you would tell me that as soon as I hit 16 I had to move out. I used to panic and wonder what I would do at such a young age, what if I didn't have a well-paid job or anywhere to go? You didn't care you said. You told me that at 16, you moved out and so would I.  Basically you told me that as soon as legally possible, I was gone – you would be free of the chore that was raising your child.  When you were around children you would say "eugh" or "yuck!" and have a look of pure disgust on your face. I didn't really understand it then, but now I realise it was comments like that which made me feel so annoying to you and so unimportant and so wrong. 

You said to me several years ago that when I "met the right man" I would be "taken off your hands" and that you wouldn't have to "worry about" me anymore.  At the time I couldn't imagine ever not needing you or your opinions or advice and thought to myself that no man could ever stop me from needing you – but you were right.  The right man did come along and he has taken me off your hands.  The problem is, now you finally have exactly what you wanted, you don't want it anymore do you?  You hate that I have my own life with P now, you hate that I rarely speak to you or see you and you blame that entirely on him, or on me being "a robot" to him as you say. Because it couldn't possibly be your fault, could it? You said to K on Saturday night, in front of me, that you never hear from me and that I make no effort to see or speak to you. You said it very angrily and you said it to K, but aimed at me – as a guilt trip I guess? That wound me up. But on the plus side, you seem to have helpfully got me in touch with some of my anger towards you which I haven't been able to do very well until now, so thanks for that.

I am going to write now what I am actually thinking about you today/yesterday which I feel is not what I SHOULD be thinking about my own mother – but it is what I am thinking nonetheless, so I am going to say it and I am not going to feel ashamed for these thoughts because they are real and they are mine and you can't control that.

I look at you and I see nothing. I feel nothing. I don't feel any connection, any maternal love, any warmth.  I don't feel like you're my parent. I don't feel comforted by you if I am sad.  I don't feel supported by you if I am dealing with something challenging and I don't feel any real love for who I am as a person at all.  When I look at you, I see a fakeness and a need to please – I guess I got that from you to a degree. You have to be the life and soul of the party, you have to have everyone think you are the most fun person there.  You have to be the one wearing the best clothes and the one to spend the most money or buy the most expensive/best presents. It is clearly a need for approval – I see that now but I can't take away the fact that it annoys the * out of me.  Maybe you could try putting some of that effort into being a mother.. or maybe it's too late for that. Who knows.

I see how two-faced you are regularly and I always have, but this weekend drummed it home more than before. You've done nothing but slag K off recently and yet you begged her to come on Saturday and you screamed with joy when she turned up and again when she said she would stay later and get a taxi home.  You then had the cheek to effectively slag me off to her, but in front of me – make up your mind, exactly who is the baddy, me or her? Both of us? I dread to think how much you slag me off and I dread to think what your friends and the rest of the family think of me because of the things you've said.

You boss and order P around like he is your toy. It is cringe worthy. I think, you are either so entitled in the belief that he SHOULD be running around after you like a slave, or that you do it to show off to people quite how much control you have over him or in your eyes, how much he loves you. Again it is embarrassing and nobody thinks it's something to admire. Even if they do laugh along with you – its because they can't quite believe it. P in turn is turning into someone I don't like much. I have lost a huge amount of respect for him – he is trying to use me as his scapegoat now that you have pissed him off by ordering him around and making him feel totally demeaned and worthless, like you do to everyone you have "loved".  That is not on.  Problem is, he is weak. Just how you like people. Weak means people don't confront you or stand up to you in any way.  Weak is how you like people – although obviously you say that you hate it and refer to people you perceive as weak as "muppets" and "idiots" and "pathetic". 

You tell me and anyone else that will listen that P is your "whole world" and that you have never been happier, that you love him more than you ever thought possible and how happy he makes you.  You tell me that you might have enjoyed having me much more if you had someone like Pete to share it with.  Someone therefore, unlike my Dad who you say was hopeless, selfish and arrogant.  Funny then that you can't bear to be alone with him and so you fill every spare moment surrounding yourself with large groups of people, drinking all night and even taking holidays with other couples.  God forbid you should spend some time together alone. You told me recently when you were drunk that he is "boring" but that you do love the fact that you can tell him to go and talk to certain people and he will "trot off and do it".  That isn't love.  You think that love is what you can get from someone, what they can do for you.  That is why you "love" certain people like Janie and Harriett so much because they all make you feel truly admired and special.  It isn't for who they are as people but how they make you feel about yourself.

I dread your birthday, I dread Christmas and I dread Mother's Day. Why? Because I dread having to make a fuss of you. I hate it.  I dread spending my time and effort trying to find something to please you – because that an impossible task (although I do understand I would get major brownie points for the cost of the present).  I dread buying you a card with loving words of affection for "mum" because they are not true and I feel like a fraud buying you one.  Also, I feel a sadness that I try to deny because I am sad that you will never be what I want you to be and I hate that you have that effect on me. My friend the other day brought her and her mum tickets to a show and I thought to myself how nice that must be – but I wouldn't want that with you. The fantasy doesn't have you in it now.

I used to want you to hug me. I used to want you to be able to properly give me a hug. A hug when I was crying or a hug when you saw me after a period of time.. a hug well done, I don't know. Just a hug. Some affection, but now the thought makes me feel quite sick. I know that sounds harsh, but it is the truth (today at least). I do not want a hug today. It would be like hugging a lamp post – cold, detached and pointless. It would not have a positive effect on me in anyway.

I used to (even recently) think that deep down you are loving, kind, soft, caring and warm and I used to try very hard to pick away at the hard exterior to get to that bit, but it never worked.  I guess I still believe somewhere that you are because I find it hard to believe that anyone can be inheritably bad. I sometimes try and figure out why you are the way you are, I think about things that happened in your life that I know of – like your Dad and believe a lot of it stems from him – particularly because of your need to be in a relationship and because of your choice of men. I told you this the other week, again, when you were drunk and you told me that you don't believe in "all that" and that you make your own life and that not many people have the "perfect family" that I want and that you can't forever blame things on your family or your upbringing. Defensive much?

You told me once that when you were staying with your Dad, that your stepmum and her kids were horrible to you and I feel sad for you imagining that.... But then I get angry because I think of how many times you put me in the same situation with your horrible choice of men and their kids and how you didn't protect me from them.  How you put them first, always.  You didn't learn from it, you just copied it. Not only that, you left me vulnerable and open to worse things because you were the only one who mattered, you didn't see it because you didn't ever and still don't see me. You just see yourself.

I hate you right now for the things that you did to me that have had such an effect on who I am as a person, on how I view the world, how I view myself and all the struggles I've had until now because of you. I hate that I don't trust anyone to stay. I hate that I push people away when I need them the most. I hate that I have such a hard time allowing myself to really feel things and then when I do, that it scares me and hurts me so much.  I hate all of the things I've missed out on because of you and I hate most of all, that I have to fight the guilt I have in feeling these things.  I hate even using the word "mum" to you because it doesn't feel right, calling you by your name would feel much more normal.  I hate having to say that I love you back if you ever say it, which is usually said more of a "love ya" in a text, because I don't mean it at the moment and it feels wrong. I don't think you mean it either.

I blame you for the fact that I don't have any proper relationship with my Dad. Because I am sure you hate him so much for moving on with his life and not still being in love with you. I think you hate S because she got what you wanted when you met him, the lovely, normal, stable, family life. Thing is, again, when you got it – you didn't want it anymore.  So you immensely dislike them both for no good reason other than what I can only think is your own jealousy and bitterness.  It is just a shame that in your own jealousy, you didn't think about me.  Again, I was just a pawn to hurt him wasn't I.  You did a good job because here I am now at 28 years old and I don't have a very good connection with him either. 

Because of you, I sometimes feel an intense loneliness deep in my heart. I am not alone now as an adult, I have P and the children but it doesn't totally remove that feeling at times when the pain comes back, as it does in waves. Sometimes I still feel like a lost little girl with no mummy or daddy and I guess that is because it isn't really a feeling, but a memory. A real memory. I feel so sad for the little girl that I was who didn't get what she needed – and what she deserved.

I sometimes hope that you will one day wake up and have some epiphany, you will get help, you will be remorseful and understand and apologise but I know that you will not. Even if you did, I am not sure what it would achieve, not really. It will all be too late by then anyway won't it, the damage was done a long time ago. Maybe it will give you some inner peace or something, who knows. I feel sad FOR you now. I am not the only one that has missed out.  You also, have missed out on so many things.

[Tenacious]

Hi Twinkletoes, thanks for sharing your letter, and your courage to say what was in your heart. So much of it resonated with me and my feelings or lack of feelings I had towards my mother. I'm so sorry for all the pain you have to deal with, but you are not alone in how you feel.
Sending you a hug .

[Twinkletoes]

Hey Tenacious, thank you for your empathy and the hug!! Always love a virtual hug.  I am sorry that it resonated with you, it is tough hey.  I wrote her another one recently, but that one is MUCH more shouty/sweary so didn't think I should post it!!