Saying no.

"I would rather be a coward than brave because people hurt you when you are brave." -Edward Morgan Forster

In my family it's a commonly-accepted truth that if you let one whacko in the door, you take them all in. If you start talking to one person, everybody associated with them sees you as their new territory. And if you draw a boundary on what is and isn't their business, they spaz.

You see, other people enforcing boundaries on those in my family is received like a plain ordinary attempt to tell them what to do. And if they dunwanna, well! You're the one who's being childish. Obviously.

A member of my extended family that I haven't really been talking to because I didn't want her family drama to become my family drama... well, she took the reins. Kicked some people to the curb who had it long coming. And as far as I'm concerned... she's proven she's worth a dozen of them. She's lining herself up for a lot of pain by daring to tell her relatives what they can and cannot do to her life. But it'll be worth it, because the return is freedom.

We haven't spoken since we were children, and I claim absolutely no part in her success. But I'm damned proud of her anyway. I so seldom hear good news about my extended family, or anyone in it. This was a shocker.

In my family it's easier to be a coward, but she chose to be brave.

Good for you, girl. You're twice the woman your mother is, or her mother. Good for you.

Saying no.

"I would rather be a coward than brave because people hurt you when you are brave." -Edward Morgan Forster

In my family it's a commonly-accepted truth that if you let one whacko in the door, you take them all in. If you start talking to one person, everybody associated with them sees you as their new territory. And if you draw a boundary on what is and isn't their business, they spaz.

You see, other people enforcing boundaries on those in my family is received like a plain ordinary attempt to tell them what to do. And if they dunwanna, well! You're the one who's being childish. Obviously.

A member of my extended family that I haven't really been talking to because I didn't want her family drama to become my family drama... well, she took the reins. Kicked some people to the curb who had it long coming. And as far as I'm concerned... she's proven she's worth a dozen of them. She's lining herself up for a lot of pain by daring to tell her relatives what they can and cannot do to her life. But it'll be worth it, because the return is freedom.

We haven't spoken since we were children, and I claim absolutely no part in her success. But I'm damned proud of her anyway. I so seldom hear good news about my extended family, or anyone in it. This was a shocker.

In my family it's easier to be a coward, but she chose to be brave.

Good for you, girl. You're twice the woman your mother is, or her mother. Good for you.

Saying no.

"I would rather be a coward than brave because people hurt you when you are brave." -Edward Morgan Forster

In my family it's a commonly-accepted truth that if you let one whacko in the door, you take them all in. If you start talking to one person, everybody associated with them sees you as their new territory. And if you draw a boundary on what is and isn't their business, they spaz.

You see, other people enforcing boundaries on those in my family is received like a plain ordinary attempt to tell them what to do. And if they dunwanna, well! You're the one who's being childish. Obviously.

A member of my extended family that I haven't really been talking to because I didn't want her family drama to become my family drama... well, she took the reins. Kicked some people to the curb who had it long coming. And as far as I'm concerned... she's proven she's worth a dozen of them. She's lining herself up for a lot of pain by daring to tell her relatives what they can and cannot do to her life. But it'll be worth it, because the return is freedom.

We haven't spoken since we were children, and I claim absolutely no part in her success. But I'm damned proud of her anyway. I so seldom hear good news about my extended family, or anyone in it. This was a shocker.

In my family it's easier to be a coward, but she chose to be brave.

Good for you, girl. You're twice the woman your mother is, or her mother. Good for you.