I've recently started to seriously consider that anyone who claims to have a perfect mother—one who doesn't yell and hit, doesn't turn others against you, doesn't scream all the time, doesn't leave the house for days just because she's angry, and doesn't abuse you in every way imaginable—physical, sexual, and verbal—but strokes your hair before bed and tells you beautiful stories—is a liar and an exaggerator. Oh, I know I'm wrong. I know I'm starting to lose my mind. But yall exaggerate about your mothers, don't you? No mother deserves those stories and poems, right? If such a mother existed, why isn't mine? I feel like I've lost my mind. Yes, I've lost my mind to the point where the very idea of such a mother seems rather repulsive. I can't believe I said that.