Phoebe’s race is about a severed mother and daughter relationship.

Phoebe looks down at her feet, feeling that her feet have let her down. She thinks I have dedicated my whole life to running. Is it not my destiny to one day race in the Olympics? How can this possibly be happening to me? My life has been a lie and my friends and family are a part of that lie. I must get away from them all. But where will I go? I know, I will move to New York City and leave my miserable past behind. Mom and Dad are no longer my mom and dad, and Peter is no longer my brother. I will have to lose my life here to gain a new life there. That is exactly what I must do.

Many years later, Peggy is wondering: Is there more she could have done for her daughter? What was she missing here? She listened to Phoebe, but did she hear her? Were the reassurances she offered to Phoebe acting only as feeling stoppers, masking Phoebe’s underlying emotions? There are so many things that push a mother’s guilt buttons, especially when it is about building trust with one’s daughter.

Who needs these thoughts?