Despite the impression you may get from this article's title, I've always been very close to my parents.
Both have taught me a lot about how to make my way in the world and the importance of showing others respect and kindness. And both before and after they helped me shape my values, they've done so much to ensure that I can safely and comfortably be myself and better yet, the best version of myself.
So with this background of love and support established, it should be understandable that one of the lessons that my mom imparted to me came as a complete surprise. Namely, that parents aren't entitled to anything from their children. Not even love.
But while that seemed radical and iconoclastic in a time when everyone else would say, "of course you love your parents" or "you have to do this for them, they're family," we're starting to hear more moderate versions of this lesson.
And while I dearly love my parents and would be happy to help them if they needed it, I've come to realize that this has more to do with who they are to me than with what their role in my life is supposed to afford them.