A child no more... not because I lost my innocence, but because I'm responsible now.

I mean... I was her child. She had her chance to make impression on me, to mold me into who I am...
But her turn is over.
I've given her over a quarter of a century to define me.
That is probably a decade more than most individuals will allow their parents to rule over their lives.

I can not play the part of a puppet anymore.
Out of all the children she raised... I had my own mind.
I was literally strong-willed.
I was and am almost her emotional duplicate...
But raised in a different family, culture, society, country, century...
So, really, I'm not the same.
I was taught different values.
I saw different things.
The world has changed since my mother was my age.
Not necessarily from a basic humane level, but from the perspective of how we live.

~CJ