For me, I start with “It’s your YES.”
Because…?
Get clear and strong in the Life Affirming ways that having this other place is a YES for you.
This is useful for your thriving by making it clear to your heart (and the rest of you, too!) that this is a sacred decision. It matters to you to have your own space. It matters to you, perhaps, to be able to settle in and adapt to your life NOW… rather than needing to adapt when your mother dies.
I’m also drawn to share this concept:
We can love someone, like a mother, and yet if we live WITH them, it can be harder (even almost impossible) to really care and have a relationship that feels free.
I’ve seen many, many examples of people who CAN be even more deeply loving and caring… if there is enough distance when sleeping, when waking, when navigating the parts of life that do no involve the other person. At times, more distance allows more depth (or depth when together).
Remember, when people are scared or they feel desperate for what THEY want, there are certain “tools” their primitive brain uses. We see it in children from earliest ages, and while the words and noises made change, we see the same kind of tools in adults, too. Guilting someone who is empathetic and caring is one of those.
“I hear you. You want this to be the way YOU want it to be. And… this is my yes. My YES matters. I care about you, and… I’m not wanting to position myself as your fulltime caregiver from here until the end of your time. We’ll need to adapt, together.” – as an inner dialogue, perhaps this can help defuse some of the manipulation. CARE, and stay dancing in your YES.
See you Tuesday!
Rick