Kimberly, I am so sorry I never replied to you, but I don’t remember seeing your response to me until tonight, when my story had a few more recommends. You are so right. I should have said “As mothers we have the maternal and protective feelings for our children that some fathers don’t really understand.”

I also want to say that you were so fortunate to have a loving father. In my case, I had a loving mother, but she was impotent in her role, as she was an enabler and afraid of my father. You said “I’m really sorry about your father. He sounds like a real asshole who should’ve just sent your mother child support money and stayed the hell away from you as a kid.” Actually, that may have been worse for me because my mother was like a little girl. I don’t know. Either way would have been bad.

You say you don’t love your mother, the abuser. I was afraid of my father but loved him and wanted his approval.I don’t feel like I ever really loved my mother, who gave me hers, because it meant little to me.