It’s Okay to Say Your Parent(s) Suck
Especially if They Do
Sharing DNA, or even a household, or a last name does not mean you owe anyone anything.
That’s just a thing that Hallmark Cards have been saying forever. Don’t buy it. Don’t drink the kool aid.
Love, like respect and friendship, should be earned. It should be earned every day, day in and day out. It should not be given freely. It comes with a price tag, and that is 100% okay.
When we are kids, we hang out with people we like, and we don’t hang out with people we don’t like. When someone disappoints us, doesn’t have our back — we ditch them. It’s totally fine to stop being friends with someone when they let us down.
The same holds true for family.
Repeat that to yourself: The same. Holds true. For family.
It has held true for my family. I’ve had to make those decisions. I’ve chosen to stop being friends because my family disappointed me one too many times, and now I’m watching my kids wrestle with the same choices.
We have almost all had bad, disruptive, disappointing relationships with the people who are supposed to be there for us. It’s fine to drop them. You are not required to go back to them time after time just because they are your relatives.
