It sounds like your daughter feels overwhelmed by staying in touch, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. To preserve the relationship, you may have to set hurt feelings aside
Read more Leading questions
My daughter moved overseas to take up a great corporate job, her first career role. She had been living locally with her partner. We had been seeing them for dinner or at concerts every two to three weeks and kept in touch with regular messages. When she went over for the job, I joined her to help get her settled, find an apartment, buy furniture and get utilities and moving sorted. She was grateful for this and it was a special time together.
Initially she called us weekly during her commute, which was pressured and noisy. A couple of months ago we had our last brief call, which she limited to 20 minutes. It felt like we were in a meeting. I have sent her messages once a week or so asking when we could speak, with no reply. I just started sharing news, including important news about my mum’s health. Our calls are unanswered and go to voicemail. One weekend I called and it rang out, so I rang again straight away. This must have annoyed her as she then blocked my phone. Last week I finally received a message saying she was well but that my messages stressed her out, that if she doesn’t respond I should respect that she doesn’t want to speak or is busy.
Continue reading… It sounds like your daughter feels overwhelmed by staying in touch, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. To preserve the relationship, you may have to set hurt feelings asideRead more Leading questionsMy daughter moved overseas to take up a great corporate job, her first career role. She had been living locally with her partner. We had been seeing them for dinner or at concerts every two to three weeks and kept in touch with regular messages. When she went over for the job, I joined her to help get her settled, find an apartment, buy furniture and get utilities and moving sorted. She was grateful for this and it was a special time together.Initially she called us weekly during her commute, which was pressured and noisy. A couple of months ago we had our last brief call, which she limited to 20 minutes. It felt like we were in a meeting. I have sent her messages once a week or so asking when we could speak, with no reply. I just started sharing news, including important news about my mum’s health. Our calls are unanswered and go to voicemail. One weekend I called and it rang out, so I rang again straight away. This must have annoyed her as she then blocked my phone. Last week I finally received a message saying she was well but that my messages stressed her out, that if she doesn’t respond I should respect that she doesn’t want to speak or is busy. Continue reading… Family, Parents and parenting, Life and style, Australian lifestyle
