Feeling guilty, I was late night binge watching a police procedural wherein a bereaved mother, whose son had been murdered 30 years ago, sadly comments to the investigating detective “without my child, what is the point?”

My stars and garters, although she grieved her son had she really squandered thirty years clinging to the thought her life had no point? That’s not sad, that’s appalling.

I realize the scriptwriter had to have this bereaved mother say something. But if it was written with the intent to elicit some sympathy from the audience, it certainly fell flat with me. With a world filled with need, with all the children, elders, dogs and cats and plants who need, she couldn’t find a point to her life!

Instead of feeling sympathy l wanted to boot her up the backside.  Dollars to donuts her teenage son must have felt exasperated and trapped by a mother who considered him the be all and end all.  At least once a day I bet he muttered under his breath “Mom, get a life.”

In conclusion, the notion that our offspring are the alpha and omega of existence might seem like the ultimate sitcom plot twist, but it’s time to flip the channel on that perspective. There’s a whole world out there with characters of all shapes and sizes So, instead of being the star of a one-note melodrama, let’s embrace life’s improv session.