Slleipnir,

You have every right to feel hurt. Afterall, she's your mother. When my father married my stepmonster, it was as if his own kids and grandkids fell off the face of the earth. The whole world revolved around Barbie and her kids and grandkids. I never got one-on-one time with my Dad, because Barbie and he went everywhere together. All I wanted was to sit down with my Dad alone and have a decent conversation without "Babs" butting in. Never happened. I finally had to sneak around. My Dad played golf everyday and then went to First & Last Tavern for lunch. He and I would meet up there and have lunch together. It was "our" time.

Have you ever told your mom that you just want to some one-on-one time with her to just hang, go shopping, get a bite to eat, etc.?? Tell her how you feel. She might very well surprize you.

I'm sorry you're feeling down. Relatives have a way of doing that. I called my brother the other day to see if I could come for a visit. I should've known better. His reply was, "Well, take care of what you're going through (meaning my depression) and then we'll talk about it." I cried all the way to work. But, I should've known better. Talking to my brother is like slamming my hand in a door. If I don't talk to him, I won't get hurt. If I don't put my hand in the door, it won't get slammed and it won't hurt.

Hang in there. If you ever want to chat, PM me. I'll give you my number.