I had to send my brother an email. He sent my kids gifts after all. They just got lost and came late. I’m sending them back. I solidified boundaries and told him if he’s not in my life he can’t be in theirs either.

Last time I did this, also the first time, WaS nine years ago. I didn’t have kids then. I gave my parents a heads up and then made th call to set boundaries with him. This time around I left my parents out completely.

Mom was already super depressed today. Maybe it’s her lab results? Maybe it’s the boundaries I set with her yesterday asking her to use more positive phrases questions with the kids. Did you have a tough day comes out whenever they’re exhausted from a fun day and I want them to focus on the fun and recognize that they’re sleepy, not down. Said she could say something like “it sounds like you had a fun day!” Or “are you feeling tired?” Or maybe she was depressed because of something else. Who knows. This will crush her though.