After 30 years of shaming, blaming, and generally humiliating her children, 68-year-old Donna Lewis has unintentionally provided her daughter with good advice while being fully sarcastic.
When 27-year-old Cheryl Lewis, expressed that she was under a lot of stress at work, Donna reportedly replied, “Well maybe you should talk to your ‘therapist’ about that, since you have so much ‘anxiety’.”
While Donna’s intention, for some reason, was to embarrass her daughter about mental health, Cheryl was receptive to a mother’s ironic wisdom.
“Therapy is honestly not a bad idea,” said Cheryl. “And I have been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, so I guess at least we’re talking about that now.”
Donna’s condescending good advice didn’t stop there.
“Maybe you should just leave your job,” Cheryl reported her mother saying. “Just like you left home, and just like you left your last relationship.”
While Donna was trying to insult her daughter by implying that she was a quitter who frequently abandoned her responsibilities, the statement resonated with Cheryl.
“My last relationship was tumultuous,” said Cheryl, who is now seriously considering leaving her stressful job. “It was hard for me to leave home, and it was hard for me to leave my boyfriend. But if I could get away from those situations, maybe I can get away from this toxic workplace, too.”
Donna’s son, 30-year-old Greg Lewis, also noted having received surprisingly good advice from his mother.
“Last Thanksgiving, I asked her why she was so cruel to us,” he said, “and her answer was actually really helpful.”
Witnesses attest that Donna’s response was laughing hysterically while pouring herself a third glass of wine, and then saying, “Wow, I’m so cruel. Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t visit me so often. I’m soo cruel.”
Greg hadn’t thought about it that way before, but maybe now was the time to set some healthy boundaries with his mother.
“I guess we’ve finally found a way to engage with our mom, and that’s taking her biting, sardonic comments literally,” said Cheryl. “It’s not great, but at least I can get some solid feedback out of it.”
When asked for comment, Donna cynically said, “Why don’t you just go ahead and write one of your little articles about me, since you’re the clever one.”
Well, okay!
