> The major difference might be that I have always had a "I trust you more than I trust myself" mentality, and I feel like I can tell her anything and not be ju

> The major difference might be that I have always had a "I trust you more than I trust myself" mentality, and I feel like I can tell her anything and not be judged. She doesn't have to give me solutions to every little problem but she will listen. When I said "best friend relationship", this is what I was referring to. My real-life best friends don't share all of my interests or politics, so I know that's not the dealbreaker I may have made it out to be in my original post. The difference is that I can share my thoughts and feelings openly with my friends without feeling like they're going to share what I said with other people, or judge me, or take it upon themselves to fix my situation -- and I can't say the same for my parents. I'm glad you're grateful for and recognise the special relationship you have with your Mother, as I think it's more rare than you may realize.