Parents and Children

My relationship with my parents is defined by my location. I live across the country 2,500 miles away from both of them.

My mother has come to see me a handful of times. My father has yet to visit. They call occasionally, but I’ve always shouldered the burden/blessing of maintaining the relationship with my parents.

Burden because as much as I know I am loved by both of my parents. My greatest heartaches and biggest lies that I believed (and held me back) were because of them.

Blessing because despite the hard truth of the above, my mother was the one who fought for me to have the same experiences as other kids. And, my father taught me how to fight through the darkness I experienced as a youth.

Over the last couple of years, I have come to realize that my relationship with my parents needs to change. I’m tired of shouldering the work of my relationship with them (and to be honest… with the rest of my family as well). And, after my experiences in New York with my father… it’s not just the physical distance that will define my relationship… it’s also the boundary that I have to set to never be hurt by either of them again.