Not quite the stage I was expecting to start, but it'll do...

I'm not sure what I was really expecting to start since the breakup stages have passed.  I've definitely reached ACCEPTANCE.   But family stress - especially since I've finally become close to the family after years of isolating myself - definitely wasn't what I expected.
 
But now that the shock of the news is settling down, I can see that this is EXACTLY the stage I need to be dealing with.   Because this is the last of my insecurities.... that old childhood need to feel connected to them... the "I want my mommy" feeling.   Yeah, they'll be pissed; yeah, they'll give me a hassle, maybe they'll even ostracize me a bit; but I can see that means I will have to stand strong - stand alone if need be.   And I CAN do that.  Maybe even NEED to do that?  
I never went to camp when I was a kid because I was afraid of breaking that family connection.  And I nearly had a panic attack halfway during my move here because I realized that I had taken a leap of faith to move so far away from them.   And ya know, that move wasn't a bad thing either.  In fact, it was the best, scariest, most amazing thing I've ever done....