Today is my mother’s birthday. I am more appreciative of the care and support she continues to give. She helps not only me, but many others. Her efforts have often gone unappreciated in the past. The almost past year has been a challenging ride for her. It has taught me more about the value of her support and love. I also understand now that we are getting older. There is a need to strive for more maturity and independence for myself.

Last year, my mother became the caregiver for my father. This change made me learn to wise up. I had to mature. There was a reality that my mother was not as able to support me as much as she once did. Although she still does when she can, that window was less than what I had become used to. My mother was always there for me. Now, she can’t always drop everything instantly to help me. I had to learn to be more responsible for my actions. I also had to understand the value of caring for my mental health.

It made me see that we as a family unit are aging. I had to be willing to open myself up to trusting more family and friends. This was necessary to help me do the things I needed to do. I realized people cared about me. They wanted to help me. I needed to be willing to trust them to be there for me when I needed them. I had to let go of the fears that people were going to hurt me. This was especially true when they were family. These were people that my family trusted more than I was willing to believe.

A part of me had to be willing to work on that long term goal. I wanted to have friends. I needed to be willing to take the step and start conversations. This was necessary so that I would get the support I needed. This took time. Still, I developed a few friends. This improved my mental health. I go outside the scope of my family for support. In turn, it opened my eyes to being more inclusive of all walks of life. I became less prejudiced to others than I once had been.

All of this had made me a better person. It made me willing to move ahead with my life in a better way. I was capable of seeing life more positively. The negativity was making it difficult for me to get through my walk of life. I had switched the narrative. I stopped terrorizing and threatening my mother with selfish acts. Instead, I became the support that I needed to be for her and my family. In turn, it made me a better person overall.

The past year has been quite the experience for me and my mother. I am starting to see we are aging and maturing. It’s up to us to keep the relationship going as best we can. This is for the best.