Mothers and Daughters

The question of the ages -- mother/daughter relationships. How much is too much -- love, stuff, direction, molding, yelling, bossing, demanding, caring, expecting? Should you buy them material goods to demonstrate how much you love them? Or can you wrap your arms tightly around them to protect them from all the hurt and pain you know they will experience in life?
Perhaps you know you are doing ok when a happy time for them is as good as if it were for you. Or when you buy them a pair of shoes that you know they will love and feel as big a thrill as if they were your own. Or maybe you just do everything the opposite of how your own mother acted and everything will turn out ok.
As the eternal optimist, believing that next time will be the good time, I can only hope for the best.