Dear Queenie,
The only time I hear from my mother and step-father is when they need help with something around the house or transportation to go somewhere. I don’t even get invited to family events unless they need a ride to get there. When I had to go to the hospital for surgery they didn’t bother to come to the hospital or call to see how I was doing.
It’s gotten to the point where I don’t answer their calls anymore.
Queenie, does that make me a bad daughter?—Fed up
Dear Fed up,
How often, pray tell, do you call them to see how they are doing? Perhaps you have made them feel as though you do not have time for them, so they only call on you for help when the matter is urgent and they have no other option.
And did you even let them know you were going to be in the hospital, and why, and how to contact you there?
Maintaining a relationship of any sort is a two-way street, you know.
