A conversation with a close friend sparked this thought about the relationship we have with our parents.

Most people have generally felt, at some point in their lives, that they can’t be themselves around their parents. For a some people, this is painful as their parents are a huge focus in their daily lives and other people just cut their parents out completely, seeing them at special events throughout the year, if that.

But what causes this distance we feel with our parents? For most people, your parents have known you your entire life. And you’ve changed a lot over the years. You loose contact with friends and other contacts, but physically speaking, your parents are always there. And that can be a bit of a problem, especially after the teenage years, when you’re exploring the world outside of your own and developing a new identity for yourself. Parents aren’t around for this change into the new you, and all of a sudden you’re a new person talking to people who knew you before the change. It’s like meeting up with someone you used to know – not sure how to act. But because they’re your parents, and we love our parents! It’s like trying to shove a square that used to be shaped like a triangle, into a triangular hole, and being horribly frustrated because it used to fit.

Thankfully, we can still build a new relationship with them. If you’re honest about how you feel, and work out a way where you can both get what you want, a relationship is sure to grow. I’m a lucky soul, in that me and my parents sort of evolved into friends almost naturally. All thats left to answer is, what relationship do you want to have with your folks?