I was going to say that my parents don’t dare express what they think because they know I don’t have too much use for them and would cut them off, but I guess they think my main shortfall is I don’t have much use for them and would cut them off.
Used to be that I was too messy, and kinda lazy. Might have been true.
Now, probably my soft-heartedness, and liberalism.
Well, my mother thought that I was the village idiot, that I would never be successful, that I did absolutely nothing right, that anything that went wrong was somehow my fault, and that I was the cause of everything evil on the planet from the first second.
Probably being gay. Granted, they accept me but I know deep down they wish I was a nice straight girl, walking down the aisle in white and giving them a herd of grandchildren.
Oh and not living up to my potential ranks up there too.
That I’m gay. They have directly told me so. My mom has said they’ve spent many nights awake worrying because I’m gay, which means I’m going to hell. Which of course means that she did something wrong and made me that way.
My mom would most likely say that I’m too mild-mannered and eager to avoid conflict. That I’m kind of a wimp. She doesn’t realize that a childhood spent living her with her hair-trigger temper and loud rages made me consciously decide never to be like her in that respect.
My dad would like for me to go to church. He’s very devout and he never pushes me on it, but I know he wishes I were a believer.
I know exactly what my dad would say about me, because he’s said it to me many times: I’m too selfish. I’ll never find a deeper meaning to life because I’m too self-absorbed to spend a few hours of my time volunteering for religious/non-profit organizations.
What my mom would say, I’m not so sure; I think she’d tell me to stop being so unafraid of stepping out of my comort zone and that I should be taking “safe risks” more often. Interesting thing for a parent to think, and it has more than its share of validity, too.
My long hair, apparently.
I’m another one who’s not living up to her potential, which partly means I’m not interested in a career that will make a lot of money.
It’s harder to predict what my dad thinks; he’d never say so directly. Maybe that I take the opportunities I’ve had for granted?
Both of my parents are disappointed that I’m not a round peg.
They fail to see that I’m a perfectly lovely triangle.
Their loss.
Although it is somewhat disconcerting to realize at 45 years old that this still bothers me a bit. I will turn that to my advantage and make sure my children know how much I appreciate their round/square/triangle/octagon shape.
That’s not limited to gay kids. My mom’s convinced that it’s somehow her fault that I’m not religious. Every six months or so, we have the same conversation…
Mom: Honey, I’m worried that you don’t go to church. What did I do wrong that you don’t believe?
Me: Well, you taught me how to think critically and not to believe everything I hear.
Mom: Yeah, but you were supposed to come to the same conclusions that I did.
She’s usually laughing at the last line, but every once in a while it comes with tears.
I don’t know what my dad would say is my greatest failing. He’s not keen on the long hair or the liberal tree-hugger leanings, but I’m just following in his footsteps there. Maybe it’s that I can’t sing.
This is my mother as well. Before entering kindergarden, she had my brother and I tested somehow. The results where that I was a little bit behind in development and my brother was “very bright.” 25 years later, she still talks about how I’m a little bit slow. :rolleyes:
This is my father. Becoming a father at 19 ruined his life and its all my fault.
The Infamous Exchange we had when I was a teenager:
“Excuse me, Father.”
“There is no excuse for you.”
“I always assumed the condom broke.”
Luckily, I moved out not long after that. 
Annie, I’m sorry you had a tough mom. 
You seem very bright to me.
Well, for my father the answer is quite simple, my biggest fault is either that I read the works of “human” philosophers or that I am an atheist. Probably a combination of both.
I am honestly not sure what my mother would say, but my guess is that it relates to my habit of procrastination (or as she titled it, the disease of Next-Weekism). An admittedly valid assessment of me.
My mom would probably say that I worry too much and that I procrastinate too much. I know she thinks I am a terrible housekeeper, too (and I know I am), but she loves me anyway.
My dad probably wishes he’d passed on more of his handiness to me. He’s one of those one-man construction crews-- extremely skilled, and enthusiastic, about pretty much any home repair or improvement project. I’m not a total klutz around the house, but if I can pay somebody else to do something rather than do it myself, I’m all for it. 
I just don’t have the ambition or interest.
lately my mother seems to think that that I’m not forgiving enough. eh. I’d rather be not forgiving then be walked all over again by my mess of a brother.
My parents were both depression babies and had sort of a mortal horror of anything which smacked of luxury or waste. I remember once when I was young I bought myself a half-pound of Godiva chocolates for my birthday, and my dad was utterly disgusted by the “fanciness” of it all. He said he couldn’t see how I could enjoy anything that cost “a buck a chocolate”. Both of them were appalled at my taste for the finer things in life.
That’s why I love the characters of Frasier, Niles and Martin Crane. The writers were ingenious to capture that aspect of the depression baby/luxury-loving boomer relationship.
Since I posted about my kid in the other thread it is only fair I post here.
Just guessing but my mother would probably say my main shortfall is I don’t acheive up to my potential (this is what she said when I was in elementary school, I figure it is probably still true).
Funnily enough my dad feels the same way about my oldest brother. I agree with you… having a family you can provide for is probably better than earning too much cash and being alone.
Oooooooh! I’m not suppose to have strong opinions either. More because I raised you to be a Lady…blah blah blah. Ladies, in my mother’s world are total farkin doormats who never disagree, never challenge and never really show their intelligence and *you aren’t a True Lady unless your house is always tidy and a 5 course meal is served on good china. * They don’t say no to anyone and don’t say yes to themselves.
Co-dependency & passiveness fur alles!