Thanking your parents gets easier once you’ve apologized for a few things. Start with one.

Gratitude is hard to say while something unsettled is sitting in the room. An apology clears the specific thing that makes warmth feel awkward, which is why thanks often arrives stuck behind it, and both of you can feel the blockage without naming it. Starting with the apology is not about guilt. It is the thing that makes the other sentence possible.

Start with one item, small and specific, and say it without explaining why you were right at the time. No list, no general statement about having been difficult. Then notice how much easier the thank-you is, and say that too while the door is open.