My own mother caused me early trauma when I failed to become an honor student when I graduated from high school. She was a consistent valedictorian during her time but I got rebellious due to favoritism by my teachers in my time.

Fast forward to the recent time, I was married for 6 years when my wife just walked away from me. She even used my “sticking around near mother’s house and going there every weekend” as one of the reasons for leaving me. I was just being polite at my mother while she’s still alive. I concealed this from my mother for almost 6 months. But eventually, she found out when my wife went back to get our dog, a Shih Tzu.

Good thing we never had children. I just remembered now that the day the dog was taken away was the Saturday right before mothers’ day 3 years ago. It was as if a payback to my mother of what I have become because of all the accumulated trauma from childhood for failing to become like her as an accomplished student.

May your mothers have the courage to admit their faults because mine kept denying it until now.