The Art Of Unconditional Love: 4 Signs Your Mom Understands You Better Than Anyone Else
She knows what you need before you say a word.
Getty Images | Unsplash Your relationship with your mother changes as you get older. She becomes more of a best friend than a parent, and you wouldn't want it any other way. I’m sure you’ve heard the jokes and maybe even felt some secondhand embarrassment related to bringing your mom to prom as your date or those awkward moments when she leaned in for a kiss in front of all the popular kids in school.
But those times have passed. You’ve grown up, and now you have some newfound respect for the woman who raised you. You see her as less than an annoyance and more as a human being — one with all the knowledge and wisdom you need to not suck at adulting.
Here are 4 signs your mom understands you better than anyone else:
1. She's your go-to person
Your mom is only a phone call away with the perfect advice and the honest truths you need to hear. You call her often. Like, when you’re walking back to your car at night alone or when you’re just a bit lonely or homesick. She’s an anchor keeping you grounded, reminding you that although the world is continuously changing, your relationship never will.
If you’re upset, angry, or just bored, you go to your mom. Being around her makes you feel better. When you have good news, she’s the first one you call. She’s also the first one you call for reassurance if the news isn’t so great.
Author Danielle Page summed up the mother daughter relationship well: "My mom is my go-to for pretty much all of the daily minor life struggles that I face, whether it's an issue in the kitchen, information on how to wash something, or if I need her to tell me to snap out of it when I'm having a breakdown over something ridiculous. The best part of having a modern mother-daughter relationship? It's all documented via text thanks to technology. Whenever I need a good laugh (or to refer to a recipe, or rules about how to wash certain kinds of shirts), I can refer to our past conversations by simply scrolling through our text history."
2. You’ve canceled other plans to make time to spend with her
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She knows you, and you know her. Despite all the problems you faced growing up, you’re close, even if you’re miles apart. You and your mom have shared a lifetime, and that’s no simple feat.
You get excited when she suggests spending the day together or going out to a quick movie. The time you spend together is special, and you cherish it above all else. You’ve embraced being totally honest with your friends about it, and they understand when you cancel.
3. You crave her opinion on pretty much everything
You still want your mom’s approval and support for anything you do. Maybe you ask her if an outfit looks OK for an interview, if a job prospect is realistic, or if she thinks you can finish three books by the end of the week. She’s refreshingly honest, for better or worse.
"She is brave enough to have authentic conversations with her kids," explained medical hypnotherapist Katherine Agranovich, Ph.D. "She is not perfect — a messed-up, flawed human like the rest of us — but she is humbly honest about it and willing to improve for her kids. And just as she accepts herself in her complex entirety, she fully accepts her children, so they bring out the best in one another. Acceptance opens doors to seeing the light of what’s good in us beneath our flaws."
4. You worry about each other
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Even if you have trouble showing it, you are constantly worried about your mom’s well-being. You’re thinking about her health and happiness before your own. And remember the rule that your mom enforced when you just got your license? To check in via text whenever you get somewhere? Yeah, that rule still applies because, otherwise, your mom would have a heart attack wondering where you are.
The mother-daughter relationship isn’t always easy to maintain, though. You’ll fight. You’ll say things you don’t really mean to each other. Still, your mom’s the first one to admit when she’s wrong and try to make peace with ice cream or by cracking the same joke she’s been using since you were five years old to make you smile. Never underestimate the power of mother-daughter relationships.
Meaghan Summers is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, and relationship topics.
