I WANT MORE FROM THEM.

You gotta give that up. Which sucks a LOT to do. Everyone deserves parents that actually parent well, but unfortunately, we don't always get that. *They* show no signs of change at this point, nor no signs of wanting to change. So if you keep wanting better from them, you are going to keep being let down. *You* have to be the one to say (feel free to paraphrase), "God damn it, I deserve fucking BETTER than this, but they aren't going to provide it, so I am going to give that desire up."

And you feel SO MUCH BETTER. Seriously, trust me. I know from giving up expectations of good parenting.

Dude, I'm so calling P-C out on Rebecca Blacking us.

Dude, I'm so calling P-C out on Rebecca Blacking us.

Oh god, I'm so pop-culture-ignorant that I have no idea what that means.

*They* show no signs of change at this point, nor no signs of wanting to change.

...or even seeing that anything should be changed. But you're grown up, even if they don't realize it.

P-C, you do realize that if you had been willing to let your father use your miles, your mother would have complained that they weren't enough.

Speaking from the been-there-torn-my-hair-out-over-that point, I can tell you that they're not going to be the parents you want them to be.

Dude, I'm so calling P-C out on Rebecca Blacking us.

Hee. It had to be done!

So if you keep wanting better from them, you are going to keep being let down.

I look forward into changing into my Constant Source of Disappointment shirt after work and dancing with JZ, Matilda, and Emmett.

I WANT MORE FROM THEM.

What Tep said. A useful phrase for me has been "Don't go to the hardware store for milk." Fortunately, I've found other people to give me some of the parental validation I'd been wanting - my dance teacher, my aunt, my friends, Buffistas! You know, at this point, what you will and will not get from your parents. What you can't get from them, you can find elsewhere just by being your awesome self. Let go, again and again, of your expectations and hopes. "My parents should love and accept me" is only going to bring you frustration and more heartache in this case.

Or, in some cases (i.e., mine), "my parents should behave like rational human beings".

A George Washington quote I read just today:

We must bear up against them, and make the best of mankind as they are, since cannot have them as we wish.

I WANT MORE FROM THEM.

And they want different from you. They want you to get married to a very specific kind of girl, preferably one they choose. You want them to accept you without it being an issue.

So, yes, you want more and they want different, but I think it's time for you both to realize you aren't getting and try to work with what IS and not what you WANT. You might find a lot more comfort and family peace.