Hey no worries you didn't stir bad memories. I still have my mom in my life because she is my mom and what am I going to do. But it is a constant battle. I was just offering my insight.
A friend of mine in the psych field had a mother so demented, that she would encourage her own children to fight; as small children. When her mother passed away not too long ago, I asked her how she felt, and she said she felt nothing, maybe peace. It was understandable.
TW,
I get that. I think I'd be sad but at peace as well. I haven't lived in the same state as her since I was 17 and now I'm across the country. But I still find myself calling her. I don't know what it is I should know better but it's like I'm always seeking for this one time to be different. It never is. I don't remember the last time I went to visit her but she comes to visit me on occasion, it almost never ends well. The last time was over christmas. The really odd thing is she has a completely different relationship with my siblings but they are part of her new family with my stepdad. They didn't grow up while she was a drug addict and she had me to take out all the bad stuff on so she was able to be just good for them. She wasn't always all bad so don't misunderstand me. There is plenty she did that was good. But a lot of the bad out weighed the good, and as long as you don't expect to have her listen to anything about you and are willing to let her talk all about herself and tell her how great she is everything goes fine. She is not ok with anyone having different opinions, that means you are attacking her. It's exhausting lol.
Anyway I don't know why I went off on this tangent what I meant to say when I started is that I find that demented parents led a lot of us into the psych field, myself included.