7th Heaven

Rose: Annie, I'd hate me too if I were you. I would be terrified of me marrying your son if I were you. I'm...I'm not the person I want to be. I'm not even close. I apologize. I'm sorry. I haven't been very nice. I've been completely self-centered and condescending, and really in your face, like I've won some victory over you in getting your son to marry me. I don't offer this as an excuse, but I do want to explain a little of where this is coming from, or where I think it's coming from. I think I started getting like this after my parents divorced. I blamed myself, and the more I blamed myself, the worse I felt, and the less I thought of myself. And to hide that, I started acting superior to everyone, so no one would know that I feel like nothing. Annie: Oh, Rose. Rose: This is hard for me. Please let me just get this out. I wanted to be that child that the parents stayed together for, or I wanted to be that child that the parents fought over, argued about. You hear these stories where couples battle it out for custody. Not my parents. Neither of them wanted me. They fought about who should get stuck with having to raise me - whose idea it was to have me in the first place. I practically lived by myself after they got divorced. They would constantly scream at each other about whose turn it was to take me. Too busy. They were both too busy with their work and their relationships, and they still are. Look, they're nice people - just really not such great parents. I mean, they've taken care of me financially, and I'm grateful for that. They paid my way through school, and they really do provide me all the material things I need. I know that they're doing the best they can for who they are, but I know that I'm not. I'm not doing the best that I can for who I am. I'm gonna be a better person. I'm gonna be a good wife. I'm gonna be a good daughter-in-law. I promise I mean that. Annie: (tears in her eyes) Oh, Rose, I don't know what to say. I feel so badly that we haven't been nicer to you. Rose: Why would you? I've been horrible. But I'm hoping that realizing that I've been horrible helps somehow. I realize now that pretending to be better than everybody else really isn't going to work for me. I want to just be the nice person that I think I really am, but I may need some help. I may need a lot of help. Annie: Oh, Rose, look, I've been a horrible person too, and I so apologize. I'll do anything I can to help you. Rose: Apology and offer of help accepted. Just please, please give me a chance to start over with you and the rest of the family. Annie: Oh, of course. Of course. Look, it took a lot of guts for you to do this, and I really respect your doing this. You should be so proud of yourself. Rose: But not too proud. (they laugh)