One day my mom sat down with me and said that she was sorry about the way she treated Cher and I when we were young. She asked if I would forgive her.
I told her what I have always believed.
She had nothing to apologize for. She didn’t owe us perfection . . just the best she could do given the lousy hand she was dealt.
She wasn’t perfect, but neither were we. She had a lot harder life growing up than I did. No one was chasing me around with a samurai sword after a night of heavy drinking. I didn’t have to leave home when I was 14 to try and fend for myself. I wasn’t valued as very little because I was female.
She did the best she could and gave us a house to grow up in, food to keep us going, support to go to school, and values which supported us through our lives.
She had nothing to apologize for.