“Our family has always had such a good time being together at Christmas, and I don’t want things to change, though I see that they must. What should I do?”

“Parenting,” not a common word in our parents’ generation, now attracts a billion dollar industry of advice experts.

While there have been great social changes in the past 50 years, with women entering the workforce en mass, sometimes bringing home bigger paychecks than their husbands, the division of domestic chores has not kept pace. Many women still feel like they do the lion’s share of the work at home, a “second shift,” in addition to their paying jobs.

The final therapeutic phase involves letting it go, which can only occur if we understand and forgive. This happens when we put ourselves in our mother's shoes, empathizing with her and recognizing how she became the person she is.