I'm close to both of my parents, but in very different ways. I do the day-to-day chatting with mom. We share crafting and cooking, and just the every day stuff. Dad I run to when I need help problem-solving...whether it be money, writing, relationships, whatever. Mom REALLY isn't good at that stuff, though she thinks she is. She's actually told me to stop freaking out before because I didn't have time for a breakdown. Not the most helpful...

Total Bitch question! I'm in search of the perfect dress for graduation and my party. Where should I be looking?

I am scarily like my mother. I am much closer to my dad. My sister is much more like my dad and has a much closer relationship to Mom.

Freud would have a field day with this.

In my family, Aimee = Jody and Jody = Aimee. Hence her conflating me with her. And also the reason I tend to go to my dad first. I know how I'd react, so I don't go to Other Me.

Mom update-- she made it through surgery in just over 90 minutes, which is fabulous, because being under anesthesia was her biggest fear. She's in a lot of pain right now, which my sister said was to be expected-- the first day of a total knee replacement is the absolute worst, she says.

So thanks, everyone for the ~ma-- it was definitely much appreciated.

And in a slight me update, I sat at my desk for the first time in three weeks today-- perhaps for a bit too long (eleven hours!) but I was getting up and walking around and moving, so it wasn't as if I was totally stationary. It was really nice to be back in MY space-- even got some writing done! Woot!

I was always much closer to Dad than to Mom. It made me a bit sad, because I generally respected Mom and loved her. But there were some basic communication and expectation issues that we were never able to gap. Dad and I could talk about almost anything but sex.

ETA: I'm glad your mom came through the surgery all right, Barb.

Yay for mom, and yay for mobility, Barb!

Given that I don't speak to my father, I am closer to my mother. (Even though she drives me batshit with her random abstract reasoning. Srsly random.) Growing up, I very much wanted to please my father, which is why I know how to fix cars and build things, but I never quite got the approval I was looking for.

I'm glad she came through ok, Barb. Your mom's knee probably came from my home town. Most of the major orthopedic parts do--lots of family working in the business so I hope her new knee is spiffy and works well.

I'm sure you had to be there, but to me, what Em said sounded purely practical and probably reflected her hearing adults say things like "If you need me, call."

fwiw, that's how I read it too.

Thanks, guys--

Cash, I hope it works well too-- what I'm worried about is that in putting off this surgery for as long as she did (something like eight or nine years ago she should've had the surgery) she's messed up her hip. I sure hope not, because she seriously will not go through another surgery anytime soon.

Knee replacement has had a really good success rate. my BiL's dad had both his replaced at the same time several years ago and he was overjoyed by the results. Definitely helped him stay active well into his late 70s. He's still going strong on them.