"I had to come to terms with the fact that I may not like my family of orgin but I needed to accept the fact they were/are doing the best they know how with the tools they were given at this time. I needed to do that for me not them."
Amen, Daffodil.
Petunia...be grateful that you are breaking the cycle...I too have a "strained" relationship with my family, sometimes its good, sometimes its very dysfunctional....I chose to distance myself from them over this past year....and I'm really working on exactly what Daffodil wrote...and praying a lot.
Best wishes,