DEAR ABBY: I have been fortunate in most areas of my life. I have a loving husband, a beautiful apartment, and will graduate from law school in a few months. My problem is my parents are indifferent about anything I have achieved in my life. They refuse to visit our home or acknowledge my milestones -- like high school or college graduations and my wedding.
What have I done wrong to make them so ashamed of me? And how can I make them love me and show some pride in their eldest daughter? -- UPSET DOWN SOUTH
DEAR UPSET: You have accomplished much in your young life. That your parents are unable -- or unwilling -- to give you the acknowledgment you crave is more a reflection on them than it is on you. Not knowing them, I can't say what their reason is.
However, you are no longer a child. Rather than continue blaming yourself, it's time to take a long, hard look at THEM and ask yourself what kind of people would treat their firstborn child the way you have been treated. Then draw your own conclusions and go on with your life.
You can't get blood from a stone, and you can't force loveless people to love you. But you can stop beating yourself up for not being able to "please" them and go on to live a happy and useful life, and that's what I'm advising you to do.