Martyrdom

Had an email chat with a friend this morning about her troubled relationship with her mother.
(NOT that I have any experience with that sort of thing!)
And, as has happened in the past, I was gifted with a response that I was fortunate enough to share:
"Laying down your life for your friend is only holy when you don't feel resentment for it afterward."
Women are all too likely to "do" more than their share - in ALL of their relationships - until, I think, they reach a certain age.  Some start setting more boundaries and putting aside time for themselves.  They replenish their own souls in order to be better friends, lovers, wives, daughters... just better people.
But some others, some moms, bypass that stage altogether and fast-forward to "it is just all about me".
Well, as Eleanor Roosevelt said so eloquently, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
And no one can force you into accepting a relationship on their terms without your consent.
That's my opinion.
And I am thankful for the gift of words with which to express it.