<table slap> THANK YOU! I grew up in a household that, looking back, I think was a bit frightened at my dark tendencies. I hated horror-horror, and I think it was more a commentary on their relentless neeeeed to make everything light and positive because 90s-Evangelical culture and Jesus was always light and positive or something (ha!) But I loved Gothic horror, the grim-dark OG fairy tales, and vampire stories (RIP Ann Rice), and I think my parents were disturbed at how much I loved the movie "Labyrinth" and the depression I have learned to accept and embrace as part of my life instead of rejecting it and hating myself.
Now that I'm a parent myself, I have found that all of the light and positivity that is too much of Modern American Parenting is a complete sham, and you know what? Good riddance. I cannot appreciate the blissful moments or laugh at the hilarious ones without accepting that understanding the grief and anger and horror infuses active parenting. I've also found that realizing this has made friendships and acquaintances a bit easier to make; if I comment on a dark part of my life, and it's met with "But you have it so good!" (and I do--life is very good), then I know right away that this is someone I can certainly interact with socially, but not someone who I can engage with deeply, and I move on.
In the immortal words of Wesley, "Life is pain; anyone who says differently is selling something."
<table slap> THANK YOU! I grew up in a household that, looking back, I think was a bit frightened at my dark tendencies. I hated horror-horror, and I think it was more a commentary on their relentless neeeeed to make everything light and positive because 90s-Evangelical culture and Jesus was always light and positive or something (ha!) But I loved Gothic horror, the grim-dark OG fairy tales, and vampire stories (RIP Ann Rice), and I think my parents were disturbed at how much I loved the movie "Labyrinth" and the depression I have learned to accept and embrace as part of my life instead of rejecting it and hating myself.
Now that I'm a parent myself, I have found that all of the light and positivity that is too much of Modern American Parenting is a complete sham, and you know what? Good riddance. I cannot appreciate the blissful moments or laugh at the hilarious ones without accepting that understanding the grief and anger and horror infuses active parenting. I've also found that realizing this has made friendships and acquaintances a bit easier to make; if I comment on a dark part of my life, and it's met with "But you have it so good!" (and I do--life is very good), then I know right away that this is someone I can certainly interact with socially, but not someone who I can engage with deeply, and I move on.
In the immortal words of Wesley, "Life is pain; anyone who says differently is selling something."