Let me tell you, it's a weird thing to feel at 54, that for the first time in your life your mother sees you. It's an odd realization that it's the thing you've been missing, the only thing you wanted all along, to be seen. And it doesn't feel like a relief, to finally be seen. It feels mean, like oh, it turns out that you knew what I wanted, and you waited until the very last moment to give it to me. I was prepared for more cruelty.