My Mom and I have had a rocky past and I had left the house at the age of 14. There were a lot of mixed feelings between us. I will always love my Mom, but the anger that I felt kept us a part for 3 years. At 18 I had my daughter, and I really wanted my Mom to be in her life. So I called her days before my daughter was born, and told her I would love her to be there. She was ecstatic. We talked for a long time and I told her that I didn’t want to fight anymore. I apologized for the trouble I caused as a teenager, and our relationship slowly started to come together. We still have our differences but I learned that discussing my problems with her, instead of arguing, makes a big difference. Forgiving my Mom and letting go of the past has taken a lot of stress out of my life. I wish I would have done it 5 years earlier.