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eversonpoe , hon, put yourself in your Mom’s shoes: she is losing her doggy friend, who is one of her kids. Her doggy child is dying. Your Mom is desperately trying to spin Layla’s life as something positive, to better handle Layla’s death. Your Mom has loved this dog for OVER FIFTEEN YEARS. But, you are making it all about you. Okay, you didn’t bond with the dog. But this dog’s existence has nothing to do with your direct history; she didn’t cause anything in your history. She’s an innocent bystander, collateral damage, guilt by association. Layla knows nothing of your history, she’s an innocent dog, at her end in life. Guilt by association isn’t fair to Layla, not her fault, not her burden. Your Mom needs help right now dealing with loss and grief, and I can only tell you this much, since I am old enough to be your Mom (and have dead parents): Someday your Mom will be gone, and you will be lighter in life and karma when that happen if you are kinder and gentler toward her life and burdens and sorrows now. Empathy toward a living suffering thing like Layla, outside of yourself, can be powerful, putting aside self, ego, etc. She is dying. Can you help her and your Mom in her transition? We don’t always understand why the fuck our parents do or say what they do, yet we often expect empathy without giving it. To be fully formed humans, we need to do both: receive empathy, but also provide it. Being the person we expect people to be toward us. I know it’s hard to love our parents sometimes, but I do know that it’s even harder when they’re dead and we are left in the world of what ifs and could’ve bend. Big picture is a lot of being a grownup, and that’s really hard to do (yet calming and forgiving).