Whether the parenting we received was good, bad, or indifferent, the responsibility for our lives is now ours.   …As adults, we become responsible for ourselves and for our own parenting. ~ L., Elisabeth.  Inner Harvest: Daily Meditations for Recovery from Eating Disorders (Hazelden Meditations) (p. 123). Hazelden Publishing. Kindle Edition.

I would not have copied Mother’s parenting
for I remember her critique
of dishes I had dried that seemed to have sweat afterwards.
My washing dishes got failing grades as well.
One year she sent me to camp with acceptably matched colors
pre-sorted. My-two-years younger sister
was trusted to make appropriate combinations on her own.
Seventy years later I’m on my own the responsibility for my life is now mine
and while there’s still a sting in the old memories I understand
how my problem solving drove Mother bananas!