I'm Visiting My Parents...

I just arrived home for spring break a couple days ago. I swear my little half sister (12) is at least two inches taller (she's a solid 5'4) since I last saw her (Christmas), and less the little girl I remember her as every time I see her, now on the precipice of turning into a teenager.



I "left" home at 15 (now 20 in 6 days) for a boarding school (split the summers off between parents to some extent or another, they're divorced), so I don't really know anyone aside from family at home (The only people around were those I went to school with freshman year of high school, and I wasn't very close with them.), no memories to be reminded of, but at the same time, with most of the people I knew in boarding school, we departed from each others' lives the second the graduation ceremony ended. It's odd, being a virtual stranger in your own "hometown", not much to do.



My parents aren't that old (early 40s), and we get along for the most part (still can't really speak to my stepfather, though there's peace between us), but my childhood was rather contentious, stuck under fire in their war (the ghost of which never seems to depart, as the conflict/jealousy between them never really ends, 15 years past and counting) and my mother's random fits of wrath. I love my mom, but her home can be oppressive, and I find myself hiding out in the basement, venturing upstairs as rarely as possible, especially when my stepfather's home. My dad's cool, but his drinking gets worse as time goes on, and for the last couple years visits with him have been a roll of the dice, which dad am I going to get tonight? That, and visiting him offends my mother, so that has to be danced around delicately. Thank heavens my grandparents (close to mom) are still doing well, I can always hang out with them.



I appreciate the opportunity to have a break and be home, but "home" can be awkward, I feel rather out of place at my mother's, and my father can be rather elusive, living in one state and working in another.