Yeeeee you're protecting. Understanding doesn't go one way. As a character she's trying, and she's trying to understand, so small steps for someone might be huge steps for others. You must understand too that other people need to deal with their issues at their own pace and speed not at yours, and as long as both understand that and both are trying, it's fine, eventually they'll reach a middle point.
But if you pressure the other to understand at a speed you can be comfortable with, that might broke things further.
*projecting
I understand what you mean, but it's important to remember that change and growth aren't immediate things. The mom has deeply rooted beliefs cuz of her environment. Lbr with a husband like that, her kids were probably her only joy. She's struggling to understand her idea of happiness is not her son's idea of happiness. Maybe she's shocked by Shouichi's dad's pic because of how *normal* it is to him. Things she's not used to aren't just magically all natural to her. Change takes work, and undoing biases (conscious or not), is a process. It's uncomfortable, but important. I enjoy how they're not letting her off the hook for her wrong, but are giving her that chance to change. It's interesting to read, feels very real, and I hope it goes well for them.
Definitely! I also like that the author is giving her the opportunity to stand for herself, and I think it was a jakemate move to see Souichi's dad being so open and relax about the whole issue, that gives her another point of view and it's an important one. I feel that she was able to confront her husband because of that reason, she wants to build a new bridge with Morinaga, and she might not want to see her son with another man yet, but I'm sure she'll reach a point where she can be happy for her son and comfortable enough to know a boyfriend exists. Old people are hard to change, and love that she's trying.
You know, it may be just my own trauma talking, but it doesn't sit well with me what oka-san has been saying. Like, how she was clearly relived when tetsuhiro said senpai was just a roommate, or the horrified look on her face when the dad said Tomoe had a partner. I know she is trying to make peace with tetsuhiro, but she doesn't appear to be making peace with the fact that he likes guys.