Ted Rall for September 27, 2019

I agree, and I am sorry.

It’s tough when your conversation goes “my children never visit.” “Mom, do you know who I am?” “Yeah. An idiot who doesn’t know who he is.”

Moms.

Mine: “It will take more than YOU have to set the world on fire.”

Resoundingly true, but moms aren’t supposed to say such things.

Poignant and realistic. I never threatened to kill my father, but when I got big enough I let him know if he ever did it again, I’d hit him back. The physical abuse stopped, but the mental abuse kept going until I just cut the man out of my life. But I was there for him when he got old. Poignant.

I feel fortunate. My Mom was lucid until the last few days when the morphine took over. She did spank us occasionally but not hard and gave up when she broke a hair brush on my butt when I was 13 and I laughed at her. She was supportive to the point of never once telling me I was wasting time and money being Deadicated to a certain pursuit of happiness. She once told me it was fine with her because she knew how happy it made me. I miss her very much. I’m sorry that not everyone can have such positive thoughts and memories.

I would imagine that there are quite a few individuals in that situation. In the end, it becomes whether or not the individual did what they thought was the right thing, even if it brought up old hurts. A look in the mirror will tell the individual whether or not they chose well.

Never thought I’d seek out help, but in joining an Alzheimer’s support group have found some solace in talking with other care givers facing very similar issues. I encourage anyone caring for an Alzheimer’s victim to contact their local Alzheimer’s Association and meet with their peers.

Wow, this one hurts. It really breaks my heart. There is no way out. You hate yourself when you show mercy and but you’d hate yourself if you didn’t.

Ted, if you’re at this point in you Mom’s and your journey, you have nothing but my sympathy and that of every single other one of us who’ve traveled it. Good luck to you, and remember to take care of yourself as well to be strong for her.

Hang in there, Ted. You are doing the hardest thing in life and doing it well. But it hurts and doesn’t stop hurting.

You make my heart weep for you

This is so sad. I guess it explains your misogyny though. Good luck to you and your mom.

I don’t suppose mom cared much for the dead kennedys. “Sorry son, there’ll be no TV party tonight.” (Panel 3).

I hope you collect these into a book some time in the future. A lot of us would like to have it.

Wow… Been there.

This thread makes me very sad. Sad to “hear” that apparently so many were abused by their parents and/or have had to deal with parental dementia. I haven’t had to deal with either myself, though I know others who have.

Am I just lucky? I really hope that those like me are in the majority and that maybe we can be at least a little help to those who suffer.

You’re being the son you wanted to be, but were never allowed to be by your mother. This is part of the process of forgiving your parents. The next stage is to forgive yourself.