> so maybe they weren't as bad as I remember [...] and my parents couldn't have really been that bad
Any possibility is on the table; and I think it'd be useful to investigate in one way or another. Most of the people experiences only one couple of parents, and there are no other models to compare against, so the parental model can seem normal/good independently of how it is.
I've actually experienced the opposite case; I've always had good memories of my childhood, but as adult, I've realized that my parents were very bad (not abusive, just bad parents).
Any possibility is on the table; and I think it'd be useful to investigate in one way or another. Most of the people experiences only one couple of parents, and there are no other models to compare against, so the parental model can seem normal/good independently of how it is.
I've actually experienced the opposite case; I've always had good memories of my childhood, but as adult, I've realized that my parents were very bad (not abusive, just bad parents).