Dear Mommy,

 

Let me start off with the fact that I love you

And that I really appreciate everything you have ever done for me

But you are not without your faults

In fact, you have quite a bit of them

Out of everything, your sense of perfectionism and overprotective nature were the worst

I doubt you even realize that you hurt me

Part of it is my fault for never telling you when your words hurt

But with the attitude you had towards my struggles

Telling you was hardly even an option

You had an ideal version of me in your head before I was even born

Even though I failed to meet your expectations, that didn’t stop you

Nothing did

The criticism never ended

Was there ever a day where you didn’t criticize one thing about me?

I certainly can’t remember it

You hoped that I would be a homebody that preferred to spend time with family

And when you realized that I wasn’t

You tried to shape me into one

You rarely allowed me to go out

Even if it was just to play catch with my classmate next door

But that only made me more curious about the outside world

The more you made me stay in

The more I wanted to go out

I’m sorry for disappointing you

But I am my own person

With my own interests

And it is time for me to leave the nest

The fact that you gave birth to me does not mean you have to right to control me

I hope that one day we will be able to talk without it becoming a lecture

But until then

I will keep my distance

For both my sake and yours

 

With Love,

Your Daughter