Kids!

What is the matter with kids?  Are parents forever doomed to never understanding them?  I just finished reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  The storyline revolves around Olive.  Some of the characters in the story have Olive playing a minor role.  But she's the force behind them.

And a force she is!  She physically is big.  Her personality is big. She dominates.  She and her husband both had dreams that never came to fruition, especially concerning their son.  Their son was cowed by his mother and resents it.  He just can't get along with her and now that he's an adult, he tells her off.

It's odd, isn't it; how some parents can't get along with their children.  I remember thinking that myself.  Where did this kid come from?  Why is she afraid of this?  How can she not like that?  What's the matter with her?  She reminds me of my mother.  I couldn't relate to my mother and now I can't relate to my daughter/son.

That's what Olive Kitteridge is about.