The relationship we have with our moms can be fraught and complicated. We must differentiate ourselves from our moms, but no matter what we do or who we become, they are always guides or shadows on our paths. We can never fully disentangle ourselves from their influence—and in the best case scenario, we probably would not want to.
Meg is her mother’s only daughter, her only child. She says she feels privileged to hold that position. But she also wondered if she did her duty as her only child, especially after Meg’s mom was diagnosed with cancer just a few months after Meg and her young family moved to a different state.
Meg and her mom have a strong and deep relationship that they maintained and even strengthened throughout the years that Meg’s mom was battling cancer and Meg was growing her family. And while there were many places along their path where their relationship could have diverged, they managed to stay close to each other—separate, but together.