Is there a "mom" gene?

The Girl is bummed about her Mom.  It's a sad time for her and a happy time.  She's a senior in high school.  She's got senior prom, graduation, and all the things that go along with this time in her life and her mother isn't here to participate.  Nor does it even seem like she cares.  The Girl gets a letter maybe once a month now.

I spent a good part of yesterday wondering how she was doing with Mother's Day.  I had even offered to drive her up to the Big House to visit and she declined.  She seemed like everything was fine.  That's the tricky thing with her.  She will do everything she can to keep from showing you that she can be vulnerable.  She's tough.  She can handle anything that comes her way.  Emotions aren't her thing.  But, deep down inside it was hurting her to not see her Mom.  She was hurt that her mom chose money over her.  That's what it all comes down to.  Her mom tries to justify it by listing all of the great things that money did for The Girl and The Boy: trips to Vegas, Hawaii, Palm Springs, clothes, gaming systems, a swimming pool, etc.  They would have gone without it all to just have a normal life and still be able to see their mother.

The even worse part of this whole day is that her mother was probably sitting in the Pokey feeling sorry for herself rather than feeling bad for having left her children.

My very good friend and her husband were never able to have children.  Why do great people like them end up going through life without any kids and crappy people like the kids' mom get two?  Why was my best friend born with the natural instincts to be a great mother and this woman can't mother herself out of a paper bag?

Then I think about all of the people who have lost their mothers and spent yesterday mourning the relationship that they lost.  The Girl has this same sense of loss but it's compounded by the fact that her mother is still alive and chose to keep stealing money when she knew the consequences could lead her to her current living arrangements.

I think she was born without the "mom" gene.