Grew up pretty comfortable, not rich but never wanting for anything. My mom would stress about the grocery bill and I remember thinking it was dramatic, like how hard is it to just buy food. I'd throw things in the cart without looking at prices, ask for brand name stuff and not understanding why it was ever a conversation. She'd clip coupons and I thought it was embarrassing. I was the kid who had no concept of what things actually cost because I never had to and nobody sat me down and made it real in a way that landed. Moved out two years ago at 24 and I have some money saved up from the slots on myprize but the first time I did a full grocery run alone I stood in the aisle for five minutes comparing two versions of the same pasta sauce and felt something shift. It was not because I couldn't afford either one but because for the first time the money was mine and spending it felt different than spending someone else's. I started noticing prices the way I never had before and the number at the checkout started meaning something real. I texted my mom that night and told her the groceries were expensive and she sent back a laughing emoji and I don't think she knew I was being completely serious.
I think about her every time I do a shop now. The years of feeding a family on a budget while I stood next to her unbothered by any of it. I want to apologize properly but I don't know how to do it without it sounding like I'm making it about me or fishing for her to say it's fine. Internet parents how do you accept a real apology from your kid for something they didn't understand at the time and does it mean anything coming this late.