Every now and then I try to bond with my very difficult father.
I shared a note yesterday telling him my next novel is almost ready to submit to my agent.
As per usual, he ignored the notice (he calls it "parental envy", which keeps him from celebrating any success on my side) & sent along his usual random death notice, which always serves as a tacit lament about how his own life is near its end (and has been for decades)--implying that everyone needs to cater to his fears of mortality first.
@MLClark My mom has expressed pride in me since I started helping her out financially since she was diagnosed with stage four cancer. 30 years ago?
"Mom, why won't you come over and see my first house, the life I've built?"
"I am jealous."
My dad says he's proud of me, but rarely. He now lives in a government subsidized retirement community and off social security only.
My sisters don't even acknowledge anything I've done. Jealousy, inferiority complex, you name it. I've lived it.
🫂 This context just makes all the more extraordinary all the posts I've seen from you, in which you've named stressors in your life, and the ways that you act to surmount them.
You are *such* an incredible person, SAM, for having leaned into the value of self-care and ongoing personal growth despite so many figures cutting you down all along the way.
I'm very grateful to get to see you continue on that brilliant path today. Thank you, as always, for thriving as you are.