DEAR ABBY: My 40th wedding anniversary is right around the corner. Although it's a time for celebration, I know I'll end up feeling depressed and empty. The reason is our son "Trent," age 38, who lives 500 miles away.
Trent is great about recognizing holidays -- birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas -- with a card, gift or phone call. But for some reason, he chooses to ignore our anniversary every year. I always mention it on Facebook or on the phone, but he never acknowledges it.
My husband says I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does. When Trent was a teenager, we went through some bad times and almost divorced. That was a long time ago, and things are different now. What am I missing here? -- SAD MOM IN TENNESSEE
DEAR SAD MOM: What you are "missing" is that your son remembers you on birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Christmas. Be grateful for what Trent does for you and stop trying to force him into remembering an occasion that, for whatever reason, may have unpleasant associations for him. Dwelling on what you're missing instead of what you've got is a prescription for misery.