A shadowy past …a clear present…a different future

We had Thanksgiving dinner with my family this year. When my brother announced that he'd be hosting the day (late last summer) I didn't think I'd be going. So many family holiday gatherings have been less than joy-filled for me. At times they seemed more like emotional endurance contests, than times of happy connection and…

What is really going on here?

My mother asked me to paint a wall for her recently. She could have easily hired someone to do this but much prefers to have her children around (and no matter how much we object, she always insists on paying us way more than she would have to pay someone else...for her, it is a…