I still want emotional recognition more than instruction

Dear Delyara, There are moments when someone can care about you and still miss you emotionally. That is what I keep coming back to with my parents. Practical concern was there. Advice was there. Responsibility was there. But so often what I wanted most was something softer and less strategic: recognition. Something like, I can see this is heavy on you. I can feel that you’re not only handling something, you’re carrying it. Instruction speaks to the problem. Recognition speaks to the person. I think my ache lives in that difference more than anywhere else.