Taming of the Shrew*

My mom was trying to park her car while my dad and I gave nagging unhelpful advice.
"You know," she said, "I'm actually a good driver, and it gets harder to park the more you say things, because it makes me anxious and unsure of myself."
"Amazing how that applies to so much of life!" I said.
She was also bitching a lot because we had brunch with her oldest brother and he still acts like her oldest brother and she doesn't feel respected as competent. Again I used the opportunity to point out how no matter how grown up and competent she is, he will still view her as his little sister, just like they (my parents) still view me as their baby and treat me as incompetent, and that it is very hard for the person who is trying to prove herself a grown-up.
I very much hope these things sunk in, since frequently it takes a person experiencing something themselves to understand the plight of others, provided they are capable of internalizing the connection. At least I have ammunition next time she starts treating me like a naughty child.


*Not that I'm calling my mother a shrew...