My dad’s parents were emotionally disconnected. They had little interest in their children and almost no interest in us grandkids. By contrast, my mother’s side of the family, the Booths, are warm and loving.
I grew up separated from my relatives because we lived so far away and because we were immersed in a counter-cultural religion (Seventh-Day Adventism). I may have met my granddad on my dad’s side only once and my grandma on dad’s side perhaps three times. We had no relationship. I grew up emotionally disconnected, just like them.
When a grandparent is so emotionally disconnected that she wants next to nothing to do with her grandkids, you just have to feel sorry for her. Relating to her is like trying to relate to a brick wall.
Another type of emotional disconnection I know well is when religious people are only interested in you if they think they can convert you. Everyone they meet is fodder for Christ (or Torah or Islam). (Dennis Prager)
