I would not give my mom a kidney.

It’s true.

I wouldn’t.

I would not endure any more discomfort in my life than she already causes, so she could cause it longer.

I would not take any more physical pain than I experienced growing up with her.

You don’t get it, unless you wouldn’t give your own mom a kidney.

“She’s your mother.”

“She brought you into the world.”

That’s what they say in outrage.

These people didn’t beat the dog when they were eight years old so they could cuddle her afterward like their own moms did them.

They didn’t spend their teen years medicated, because it made them easier to handle.

They don’t regularly comfort their Gramma, the woman who did make them feel loved growing up, because their mom tells her she stole her children.

They never got the “What happened to the daughter I loved?” text, because they couldn’t go to lunch.

They were never beaten for refusing to see a therapist for “behavioral problems.”

They don’t suck their thumbs as adults, because it was the only thing that made the rages stop.

They didn’t lose years with their father, convinced he’d molested them, because she was angry.

They can suck my dick.

Because I still wouldn’t give my mom a kidney…

… until I did, because she’s my mom and she brought me into the world.

When she dies, I’ll cry because I spent my life hating her…

and the woman who made birthday pancakes with candles in them disappeared when I was eight…

and I don’t know why…

but I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t give your mom a kidney.