Juliebird, I cannot emphasize this enough: you are not the bad guy in this situation. You left a toxic situation, and it at once doesn't matter that it was family, because survivors do what they have to do, and it DOES matter that it's family, because you love your mom and younger brother. It's a really difficult position to be in, especially, as it seems to me, no one else in the family has got your back

It's a horrible situation to be put in, and I'm sorry that you're in it, but you did the right thing.

All of this, a thousand times.

Juliebird, Strix said it. You did nothing wrong, and your family is putting you in a terrible position. Your parents are putting themselves in a terrible position, and don't seem to realize it.

Sometimes it's healthier for you to walk out of a bad situation, regretfully but righteously, to make it clear you're not bluffing about your needs.

I seriously wonder if your mother has some vision of a perfect family, where if she just gets you all together under one roof for a weekend, that your brother will be OK, and damn all the consequences, like unhappy other children. It's not your duty to help her chase after a dream that's not going to happen, at the expense of your own emotional well-being.

You were right to walk out. Your mom has a right to be unhappy, but it's on her for putting you in that position, and prizing your drunk brother's happiness far above his siblings.

I just spent half an hour finishing up some training that I needed to catch up with at work that I can access from home. I'm not sure if I feel grown-up or beat-down.

I'm not sure if I feel grown-up or beat-down.

NATLBSB -- I should have this tattooed on my other wrist!

I'm living dangerously tonight - watching Buffy reruns on Pivot and having grocery store sushi for dinner.

Has anyone seen a Brit show called Lovejoy? It's available on Acorn and looks intriguing, but I'd like to know how people like it before paying for it.

I have split pea soup that's been in the slow cooker for about six hours now and still needs to go a bit longer. I'm drinking IPA and watching hockey -- currently Penguins, but I'll switch over to the Blackhawks in a bit.

Lovejoy

I remember watching it on PBS in the late 1980s or early 1990s, liking it, regretting that more wasn't available. I think it was the first thing I had ever seen Ian McShane in.

Tried to go see Gone Girl, but it was sold out! So we got some popcorn anyway, listened to some brass bands [link] and came home.