Five Things My Mother and I Don’t Talk About
1. Money

Money is still a rather taboo subject in many families, and my mum and I are no different. We’re a bit awkward about talking about financial matters and generally leave it for conversations among the adults. We haven’t had much of a discussion about salaries, expenses, debt, investments, and the like. We’ve never asked each other for money, even though we’ve both gone through some tougher financial times. In our house, money is a matter for the adults to address and discuss.

2. Illness

My mother is seldom comfortable talking about her health or her aging process. Illness is something we simply don’t talk about and she doesn’t even like being around when I’m at a doctor’s appointment. Unfortunately, she has suffered from a few illnesses over the years, but she would rather skip the medical part and stay in the dark. We don’t even talk about the doctor’s instructions or her recovery progress, leaving that to the doctor’s office and her close circle of friends.

3. Politics

My mum and I come from different backgrounds – both political and religious. We’ve learned to respect and accept each other’s views, but we don’t talk about politics too much and almost never debate. We will read articles from different sides and offer our own perspectives, but that is more out of respect than to engage in an actual in-depth discussion. We would rather stay away from the political battlefield and keep open dialogue.

4. Death

Death is something we rarely bring up in our conversations. We might mention a family member or friend who has passed away, but we don’t get too deep into the topic. It terrifies us to think of the possibility of losing someone close to us, and so we don’t talk about death directly but instead focus on life. There’s an invisible understanding between us in this sense, a shared peacefulness that spares us from the dark reality of death.

5. Our Secrets

We each have our own set of secrets, and we’ve learned to be discreet and keep them out of our conversations. Whether they are our own personal dreams, passions, and ambitions, or those of our family or friends, we try and keep those close to our chest and in our thoughts. We have an understanding that being able to keep a secret is a sign of respect, and we honour this by keeping things to ourselves, away from the public eye.

Conclusion
My mother and I share a lot of common ground, but there are some topics that we simply can’t bring ourselves to talk about. No matter how much we love and accept each other, the thought of money, illness, politics, death, and secrets still terrify us. We try to focus our conversations on more uplifting topics, such as our plans for the future, our dreams and passions, and our shared past. This is what helps us remain close and still enjoy our conversations without having to bring up some of the tougher topics that exist between us.