I have a friend whose mother hated her so I’ve heard some stories. I’m so sorry you didn’t have a caring nurturing mother who loved you. Some people are just bad.
Thanks for the kind and caring words. It was not easy being a kid, but I believe it served me well. I’ve led an adventurous and tough life on the ocean and off. My childhood made me tough, which is what I needed to be.
Luckily, in my later teen years I found a place at a marina with a lot of good men as examples and a lot of caring women as well. It gave me a good start and well informed me on what to look for in a spouse.
My wife of over 25 years has been a great Mother to our kids and a fine wife to me. So, I guess it all ended well, or at least better than it started.