I raised my children as a single mom, and I was always there for them.  I had to divorce their father because he had taken up crawling into bed with our daughter, and refused to stop when I told him to. He was on his way to ruining her life, and setting her for a lifetime and trauma, and I had to stop him.  

Because of the divorce, I knew and felt my children were at risk, and so I chose to put professional goals aside.  I happily stayed home and supported them for their entire growing up.  At the time my daughter was 11 and my twin sons were 7.  I knew there was trauma and set about to assure them that everything was safe and secure and that life can be trusted.  They all grew up into very independent and successful adults because I poured self esteem and self confidence into them and loved them unconditionally. 

Now they are in their mid to late 30s, with successful professions, marriages and financial freedoms. But I am being left out of the picture completely, even though I live near to them.  They don't call me, they don't visit me, and worse yet, when I text them, and it's rare, they don't even try to communicate back and I feel alone and so lonely.  Oh, how I wish I could hear their voices.  My daughter over the past decades not only rejects me, but she has been outright mean.   

During their upbringing I always assured them that I was doing fine, and could take of myself and them.  Maybe they just got used to that, and knew to go about their lives of growing up without worrying or thinking about me as other kids had to do with their parents.  But as they changed and grew up - so did I.  I am almost 70, and even though I am healthy, I miss them so much and I need to see them. But they refuse, and their texts are short and usually abbreviated to 3 letters.

I believe I am in so much pain over it that my body is in pain, and it aches - with no diagnosis, and I know that my heart is breaking.  I have no friends because I have always had to work so hard and long I put that aside also.  

I wonder why they are this way.  They were wonderful children, and I had no preparation of any kind that this might happen.  I grew up in a household that despite all the insanity, the elders were treated with honor, dignity and respect.  There is little if none of that with adult children.  Actually they treat me as if I was an addict/alcoholic person who neglected them instead of supporting them like I did.

Does anyone have any answers?  Thanks for reading this.  I don't have anyone I can talk to about this.