Between unconditional love and stubborn misunderstandings, the mother-daughter relationship is a sensitive area. A source of conflict, this particular link can however be repaired thanks to a simple rule.
We know, nothing is simple when we talk about a mother-daughter relationship. Too similar or too different, too close or too distant… This intergenerational female relationship can be surprisingly complicated. From childhood to adolescence, and sometimes even later, this special bond can become very conflictual. Arguments and disagreements continually break out in the family sphere, and it is sometimes difficult to renew the dialogue once an adult.
This is exactly the situation Louise found herself in. Since she was a teenager, the 32-year-old young woman reveals to us that she has a “paradoxical relationship” with his mother. Despite an undeniable emotional closeness, they regularly come to conflict: “Even though things have been better between us since I left home, we can quickly butt heads. A word or a sideways look can sometimes be enough to start an argument, even today.” It is precisely to counter this electric atmosphere that the two women have established a little ritual. A one-off tradition that allows them to get together, in a much more peaceful context than that of everyday life. “We decided, every year, to take a weekend just between us”Louise tells us.
It all started when he was 18, when his mother offered him a trip to Milan: “My father couldn’t come because of his work. So it became a mother-daughter vacation a bit by chance. And then, we never stopped.” Majorca, Tenerife, London, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Athens… The two women indulge in this pleasure whenever they can. “Each time, it brings us a little closer. It’s especially during these moments, when we put our everyday problems aside, that we take the time to really talk to each other. She asks me more questions about my life, without being intrusive or oppressive as she can be the rest of the time. And then, these trips are also our way of telling each other that we love each other”explains Louise, very moved.
Moreover, after years where her mother was the main source of financing for these escapades, the young woman decided to offer her an all-inclusive stay in turn: “We went to Malta for five days for his birthday, and it was a surprise. I wanted to thank her for all these beautiful moments spent together, and show her how important they were to me too. His reaction was very touching, and it united us more than ever.”
With Louise living far from her mother, this annual trip is one of their rare opportunities to get together. But for a mother and her daughter who live in the same region, there is no need to fly to the far reaches of Europe to reconnect: a spa day, an afternoon of shopping, a good restaurant… Any activity that is out of the routine, planned on an ad hoc basis, can change everything. This dedicated time, away from ordinary tensions, acts as a benevolent interlude where mother and daughter relearn to see each other differently. In these suspended moments, resentments fade, memories are built, and a more sincere dialogue takes place, far from the fixed roles of everyday life.
