Hi Anita,

Wow, that is food for thought.

His interactions with his Mum were mixed. He has an older sister who seems to have always been the favourite, my husband however became the man of the family after his Dad left.

His Mum would expect him to look after her, to basically be at her beck and call. I don’t doubt that she loved him but, if he refused to do something for her she would become vicious and say really hurtful things. She would then snap back into a good mood within a blink of an eye and all would be ok again. On numerous occasions my husband would say that his Mum was making him out to be the blacks sheep of the family even though he rarely put a foot wrong – he would just say no to her demands sometimes.

He looked after her pretty much around the clock in her final days which is something I know he is thankful for – he got to spend a lot of valuable time with her.