Men are more likely to confess to a predilection for pornography than admit to a close relationship with their mother.

I came across this article by William Sutcliffe and found it very enlightening... I wish his mother had a book or a blog out, she's a kindred soul with a wise mind, to me.

When son William calls her up to discuss his new book about to come out (about three somewhat meddling women who are led to motivate their 34 year old unmarried sons to get on with their lives), he's surprised somewhat at her reaction both about the book which (in his words) ".. suggests that, after all the effort women put into the first 18 years of their sons’ lives, what is subsequently given back is a pretty meagre reward."

His mother seems to have come to some acceptance and understanding of this -- probably in a longer and more painful process than is reflected in this article (though, then again, I say with a bit of humor, they are Brits, a bit more stoic and probably not led to the public wailing and moaning we Americans are want to do)

William's mum explains:

“All mothers feel the pain of no longer being needed, but we don’t admit to it,” she confesses eventually. "

“It’s not an unmixed pain, though,” she says, hiding a little behind the double negative. “You wouldn’t want it any other way.”

When I ask her why nobody admits to it, she says: “You don’t want to seem abject.” She is rather pleased with her choice of word. I ask her what she means by it, and she comes up with another.

“Discarded. You know that you’ve been discarded. You passionately want your son to find the right woman, but you know that when it happens, you are cast aside.”

The interview is definitely worth a read.... Men and their mothers