Meditation: My dog

So it turns out that on a Spiritual level I love my dog better than I love my son (note to readers, he never reads this blog thinking it is all about jewelry). What I mean is that I unconditionally accept my dog. Yes, she poops in my front yard everyday. Yes, when she gets sick I clean everything up and even buy her a new bed without uttering a bad word. Of course when my son was an infant I did these things for him as well. It was easy to love him because he was "mine." But while I love my dog in a way that gives her maximal freedom, it seems that now my son is grown up and left home I can't seem to love him unconditionally. I expect certain bare minimum behaviors which are that he answer the phone when I call or failing that return my email, and that he initiate a call to me at least once a month. But the more I want him to do these things the more he digs in his heels and refuses. My job as a mother now is to love him in a way that gives him maximum freedom which means to release him in love into the hands of God. Don't get me wrong; when he does visit he is very sweet to me, and we have had no falling out whatsoever. But it hurts my feelings that he doesn't keep in touch with me. But on the other hand I have to realize that if he wanted to call me he would. Every time you think that if so and so would just change his or her behavior just a little bit you'd be happy is to give into the ego mind (the devil in your head). Your peace of mind comes only from God. Nothing in the outside world can give your life more "meaning" or make you happier if it does not adhere to the Will of God. My old shrink once told me that if I wanted to be in my son's life in ten years, I needed to act the part starting now. So I call, send a tiny bit of money, forward articles to his email but that is all I can do, and I must do it without expectation of any response. This situation is a great grief to me that I must give up in the New Year. I must learn to love my son at least as well as I love my dog. But it seems easy to love her because she loves me back! This lack of family feeling I get from my son seems to be such a lack of respect. But this is happening to me to give me the opportunity to let go of the situation. Hence I'm writing this down on New Year's Eve to cement this lesson in my mind.