Personality disorder

The Ugly Truth: A Letter from Your Self-Centered Mother

It’s fiction…

Photo by Beth Jnr on Unsplash

Hello darling, haven’t seen you in a while. I suppose you might felt ashamed after our little contretemps. Please don’t worry because I forgive you.

I expect your reaction to my suggestion that you look for a better job was driven by hormones. Yes, I know you said you love working at that studio place, but your father and I paid a lot for your education and I fear you are not making an effort to use it. We only want the best for you.

Anyway, you might want to make an appointment to see your doctor, as they have excellent methods of balancing hormones these days. It’s probably the pregnancy, but you might be heading toward early menopause.

Several of the women in your father’s family were affected, you know. Your auntie Carol’s hormones sent her doo-lally. I could never get on with the woman. How dare she comment on my parenting? We had a terrible ding-dong when she told your father I left you to cry in your bedroom for hours.

I did not leave you for hours at all, but, as I told him, you had to get used to not being the center of attention all the time. It’s not right for a three-month-old child to be as demanding as you were. You soon learned to quieten down, though, thus proving I was right all along. There’s nothing worse than a child with an inflated sense of entitlement. Make a note, sweetheart.

I wanted to respond to the letter you sent me last week. Again, I can only assume that your pregnancy is messing with your brain. They say that, don’t they? Baby brain, I think they call it. Thank goodness I never suffered from anything like that.

Where was I? Oh yes, your letter. Well, I was disappointed, to be honest. And quite angry until I realized what was going on. You know you cannot cut me out of your life. After all, I am your mother and the baby’s grandmother. I have rights.

I am aware your husband doesn’t like me after I called him a ne’er-do-well. It’s true, darling, he is not good enough for you, but I am prepared to forgive and forget. I don’t hold grudges and I certainly don’t blame you for not standing up to him. Tell him he need not be at home when I come to…